When the Devil Wants to Dance With You
by Withinaniceheart
Summary: After a thousand years all it took was a coven's spell in New Orleans and Klaus Mikaelson lost his humanity. With his emotional switch broken the monster inside him got unleashed and roamed free. He thought he had no strings on him holding him back but he was wrong. He still craved blood, destruction but somehow above all else what he longed for the most was Caroline. [Dark Themes]
1. When the Devil Wants to Dance With You

_**Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements.**_

 _ **If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 _Klaus had turned his emotions off. Now he only craved blood, destruction and above all Caroline. [Dark themes.]  
_

* * *

 _ **Author's note: The first five chapters of this story are REPOSTED.  
**_

 _I had posted the first five chapters of this story in the past before I took down but now I am posting this story once more._

* * *

 _ **Story facts:**_

 _ **The events that set this story in motion originally take place in TVD's episode 4x20.**_

 _ **Alterations have been made in the premise of the story of the Originals thus creating a completely different alternative universe in which the events that happened and are happening in the spin off never existed in this story.**_

 _x_

 _x_

 _Klaus visit in New Orleans after discovering Katherine's letter turned out to be an elaborate scheme by a coven of witches. There was an uprising in New Orleans and everyone feared that in the end it would all be for nothing if the creator of the city was ever to come back. Furthermore Esther's spirit had informed them about the bloodline connection every vampire had with the Originals._

 _If Klaus was to die then Marcel would die along with him and the city would finally belong to the witches once more._

 _They wanted Klaus dead and the coven of New Orleans believed that if they could lure him in the cemetery under the promise of a fake pregnancy they could easily subdue him. It was there that they were stronger. Their plan was simple. Lure him in and drain him of his power. Use a new desiccation spell against him and lock him in the tomb until they would find a way to finally kill him._

 _But they didn't count on Elijah's presence or the fact that some witches were still loyal to Klaus._

 _Blood spilled everywhere. Hayley and most of the witches died in the mausoleum but the battle was not won._

 _All it took was one spell to go terribly wrong._

* * *

X

X

X

 _When the devil wants to dance with you, you better say never  
because a dance with the devil might last you forever_

x

x

x

It was impossible for a vampire to turn off his emotions after a certain age. But each rule had an exception and impossibility remained an impossibility until it was challenged and its boundaries broken. Then everything was possible.

In a thousand years he had never turned his emotions off. It was a matter of control. He never gave up his control no matter what it cost him. _Until now._

All it took was a pesky little spell. Witches could be such a pain but this time this had proved to be a blessing in disguise.

The spell was easy enough to be broken but his noble brother never expected what would follow next.

All Klaus had to do was turn back his emotions. The only problem was that he didn't want to. He felt liberated. Free. He felt an energy running through his veins that he had never felt before. He was powerful, untamed, immortal. He was a God among people. Or maybe the Satan.

All his inhibitions had now vanished into thin air. He only cared for ... _nothing_. The emptiness inside him was the most soothing sensation he had ever felt. It was an incredible contradiction. He felt nothing and that felt amazing. The chaos that lingered inside him was after centuries of torment finally silenced. For once he didn't want to be loved. He didn't care about what others thought of him. He had nothing to prove to anyone. He wasn't afraid of being alone. He wasn't afraid of being rejected. He didn't want a family to tie him down. He didn't want attachments. He didn't want anchors. He didn't want to be restricted into the confines of a pathetic town when he could have the world.

All those emotions and fears and all that tormenting instability and irritability seemed a far away dream.

He only wanted to serve his instincts now and nothing else. Her was untrammeled by unimportant emotional conventions.

He wanted freedom, blood. He wanted to revel in the kill. He wanted to touch the world and bend it to his will. To bring death. All the potential was incredible and so when he daggered Rebekah and Elijah he felt liberated. Nothing could stop him now. Nothing could contain him. Nothing could hold him back.

His reign of terror had just begun.

* * *

 _ **Months later**_

He kept watching her from the shadows. The thrill he felt was electrifying. He had been watching her every move for days. Drinking her in. Stalking his prey and taking notes. He watched her closely and carefully and he noticed things he hadn't before.

He noticed the way she watched humans when no one was watching her. He watched the hunger and her need for blood boiling just under the surface. His little lighthouse emitted dark lights in the horizon when no one was there to watch them shine.

He noticed how lonely she felt. He noticed how delectable she looked. He noticed what she was wearing and he noticed how she would slowly undress every night in her room.

He noticed how she would let her trembling hand run between her thighs and how she would bring pleasure to herself. He noticed her short breaths and her glowing face as she would clench her eyes and would succumb to the ripples of pleasure.

His incompetent hybrid was still on the run and so she was left behind all alone and unsatisfied. Something that he would soon have to rectify.

He also noticed how she felt comfortable by making others believe that she was a bubble of positivity when in reality she seemed lonely and depressed.

So he kept watching and he kept taking notes. He had wanted her for years now but he had never allowed his obsession to fully manifest because he knew that this would destroy sweet little Caroline and his emotions were standing in the way.

He never expected to find his way back to Mystic Falls but this would be the last night he would stay there. He had already set the rules of his game. He had already set the pawns in their right places ensuring that no one would come in his way and now it was time to deal with the Queen.

His presence in Mystic Falls was just a short cut after all.

A necessary and unavoidable short cut. He licked his lips as his eyes traveled over the long creamy legs the tempting short little skirt she was wearing was revealing. His eyes filled with gold and blood and his fangs gleamed in the moonlight. The entire bloodline in his body was flaring up at her sight. He could hear the howling in his head and this time it told him that he was in the right place.

It took him months to realize what was happening to him.

As corpses started piling up around him no matter where he went he became restless. His switch was still down. He hadn't turned it back on but something was off.

His mind was always turning and turning. His nights became long. Blood wasn't enough. He savaged everything. He destroyed everyone. And it wasn't giving him the same thrill and satisfaction as it had in the beginning.

It wasn't enough. A lingering sensation was there. It was burning and scorching. Like a missing piece from a puzzle. The one missing piece that can drive a man insane.

It wasn't until he realized that all the women he fucked and drained were perky blonds that his mind started working towards the right direction again. It was when her memory reappeared in his eyes that he finally understood.

He had turned his emotions off. A handy vampire skill but he wasn't just a vampire now was he? He also had the wolf inside him and without his emotions to keep the beast tamed all the brutal animalistic instincts were free to come raging to the surface.

And his wolf side seemed to want only one thing. Her.

 _Caroline._

His first instinct was to come get her. His first idea was to fuck her and to kill her on sight. She was a weakness and one more string that was wrapping around him and holding him down.

But all it took was to just see her again and his plans changed.

Now as he saw her enticing body walking down the road he had to admit that even without his emotions something was drawing him closer to Caroline.

Something strong that could compete even with his need for blood.

He would kill her eventually yes. That was certain. He could not allow a weakness like that to run around free and happy and ready to destroy him.

But first he would have a lot of fun with her. He would satisfy each and every need she had created in him. He would take her out of his system. He would corrupt that light that seemed to warm even his ice cold heart even in this state.

He stabled back. A rush of something similar to emotion passed through him and that was more than enough to make him realize that Caroline was a ticking bomb for him. She was the one and only thing that could trigger an emotional break in him again. And he would not permit this.

No. Caroline had to be buried and stored away. She had to stop existing in his world. But first she had to give him everything she had denied him for so long and then some more. First she would break in his hands and only then he would throw the broken pieces away.

Somehow she must have sensed his presence because she had turned around, her blond curls bouncing around her face as her eyes searched for him. But he was well hidden in the shadow and the distance and she couldn't see him.

She had breathed relieved, probably scolding herself for being afraid of the dark even now that she was herself a creature of darkness and she turned her back to him again. She kept walking down the road obviously heading back to her car.

He followed her from a safe distance and when she took her car keys out of her bag he finally stood behind her.

He smirked when she jumped and turned around to face him. The keys fell from her hand when she saw him and she placed her shaky hand over her trembling chest.

"Oh my God, Klaus!" she breathed and she closed her eyes in relief for a moment.

When she opened them again he was still standing there smirking and looking at her as if she was the only woman left in the world.

"You scared me!" she reprimanded him and his smirk turned wider.

"Did I love?" he asked with a tempting voice. Mirth dancing in his eyes. And something else that was dark and malignant.

Caroline narrowed her eyes suddenly feeling danger surrounding her. Something was wrong and she could feel it.

"What are you doing here Klaus?" she suddenly asked looking around her. All Caroline knew was what everyone knew. And that was that he and his siblings had left for New Orleans and had never come back. All she knew was that he hadn't cared to even bid her farewell. He missed her graduation and everyone seemed to be relieved that the monster left them at last alone.

Now the road was empty and barely lit. He and Caroline were all alone in the street that seemed abandoned somehow and even if they were not it was not as if anyone could go up against Klaus and survive.

His presence obviously unnerved her. For the first time she felt differently around him. Usually she felt comfortable but this time it was as if her whole skin was crawling.

Klaus took a step forward and she took a step back. Her back hit on the car and Klaus placed his hands on her waist. He could tell that she was ready to run away even if she knew that it was a useless endeavor. She could never escape him.

His hands found their way under her top and caressed the naked skin of her lower back.

Her eyes widened at his intimate gesture and he smiled sinnisterly.

"I am here to invite you to come dancing with me love," he said and before she could even understand what he meant her dead still body had fallen in his arms.

He had easily snapped her neck and lifted her in his arms. Her head rested against the crook of his neck as he walked away with his precious prize in his arms.

He happily hummed a long lost Norse tune his mother once sang to him that soon would forever haunt Caroline as her dance with the devil had just begun.

* * *

 **Α/Ν:**

 _As I have posted in the author's note this story is Reposted. I have posted it before in the past and I took it down and now I am reposting it again with every intention of completing it. I have just changed the username of my account and decided to work on this story again._

 _Thank you for looking out for me and for any attempts of plagiarism but I assure you this story is mine._


	2. Welcome Home

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Dark smut.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 _Red silk was running along her body like a haze of crimson smoke and she was breathing heavily. She was panting and trying to move but it was impossible. Each move was breaking her skin more. Blood spilled and all she felt was heat. So much heat that felt as if actual fire was bursting out from the slightest touch of his fingers and was expanding from her skin to her veins. He had turned her into a puppet that existed only for his pleasure. And somehow she wanted to please him. To make him happy._

 _So when he ran his fingers over her spine tracing all the bites his fangs have given her she sighed in content. Her chest was rising and falling in harsh breathes as the pain and the pleasure, a sweet dichotomy of insanity, were now absorbed into her heated core. The wounds were festering and the poison was driving her closer to the inevitable release of death. He was killing her, fucking her to death, and she was enjoying it._

 _She could not tell if this was a hallucination created by his poison or if it was the most twisted reality ever._ _She was pressed against the mattress with her hands and knees. She was all spread for him and had bent her sweaty body to his liking. He was gripping her hips pulling her closer to him. His wolf nails dag into her flesh tearing it apart. She was trying to resist but her body was betraying her._

 _She then felt those terrible sharp black extended nails that resembled monster claws trace her skin in an excruciatingly slow journey creating welts. He enjoyed the way her skin would break and heal underneath his pressure leaving droplets of blood and red bruises behind that would soon fade too leaving their scar just underneath the surface. Unnoticeable to the mortal eye but there for both of them to see. She shuddered at the sensation noticing how it was getting harder for him to hold back his transformation. He enjoyed claiming her with his werewolf claws and fangs and feeling the friction between their bodies with his wolf senses and the monster that dueled inside her not only feared this but was also getting more turned on by it._

 _He fisted her matted hair and painfully pulled her head up until the back of it settled against his shoulder. He widely opened his mouth and his fangs pierced the sensitive skin of her neck. Her pulse rushed into his mouth and her blood was poured out in endless waves. He ripped her flesh and the pain was excruciating as he kept biting cruelly and pushing his fangs inside her mangled flesh. She was screaming but he wasn't relenting._

 _One of his hands found their way over to her breast and caressed it up and down until its peak was hard and pointing upwards and begged to feel his touch and scratch more but the pads of his fingers travelled lower and lower and she shamelessly moaned as she grinded her ass on his hard length. The end of his razor sharp nails felt hot and hard while the skin of his fingers underneath felt soft and smooth._

 _She didn't know what was happening to her. This wasn't her. She would never give herself so shamelessly to Klaus. Caroline Forbes never begged. Never! And now her whole body was begging for him._

 _His fingers stroked her wet folds and plunged inside her. He pushed a third long finger inside her and then a fourth and with a burst of speed and strength he started pumping his fingers in and out from her aching soaked core. The sting of his wolf nails that were blemishing her folds at their violent intrusion felt like acid on skin and yet the motion felt so good. It was maddening; hell and delirium intertwined. Her blood was pouring over the sheets tainted with his poison as her muscles kept sucking his fingers deeper._

 _But when he took his fingers out she whined and begged him. She wanted to feel him inside her._

 _He was laughing at her need and misery. Like a madman that was driving her mad. He was taking everything she had to give in spades. She was crying out his name. She begged and pleaded. She spread her legs more hoping she would entice him to take her right then and there. She let her face fall in front and he pushed her savagely until her forehead pressed against the red silks. His hands raised her ass in the air and the sting of the slap he delivered made her scream and crave for more. Her own fangs extended and she growled as the veins underneath her eyes danced. Those veins soon got soaked in her tears. Why was she crying?_

 _She cried and screamed again and again until he buried his nose against her neck and purred her name. She wanted to give him everything. It was as if she was compelled to do so and fear gripped her soul. Had he compelled her? This is what was happening to her? He wouldn't, he couldn't, why would he do that to her?_

 _Through the haze of her fear all her thoughts vanished as the whole world started turning._

 _His mouth sucked the tender part of her ear and his warm breath tickled her flesh._

" _To whom do you belong Caroline?" he drawled with his most seductive tone as his hands traveled possessively all over her naked sweaty bloody body._

" _To you," she breathed and tried to lift her body and to feel him closer but he didn't allow it. He stilled both of their movements and she cried frustrated._

" _Only you, please Klaus, I am yours," she begged and she heard him humming a very haunting tune she could swear she had heart before. It was a cold sound and held no emotion and was soon met by his laugher as she kept pleading him to fuck her. That laugher was so unsettling almost as much as the tune he sang under his breath. It turned her blood to ice and she felt his hands parting the cheeks of her ass violently._

 _This didn't feel right. It felt raw and emotionless. It felt brutal and animalistic and somehow she needed it. She needed him. She wanted him inside her. More than ever._

 _She was his._

" _Forever love," he promised as he savagely thrusted his hard engorged cock deep inside her in a swift vicious move._

 _She bled and broke and screamed and-_

Caroline jolted forward with a cry and realized with relief that it was all a dream.

Just a dream.

A very hot sexual intense dream; an extremely painful dream that left her breathless and disoriented. Her whole body still ached as if the dream had been real and not a figment of her imagination. She could swear that she could feel the bites all over her body and the wolf poison still lingering in her blood. She felt weak and hot and needy.

More so she could still feel Klaus inside her. She could feel him; every inch of her body could feel him. Her sex was still throbbing and she clenched her legs shut and moaned. She could feel his nails and his cock inside her even now and she could hear him singing that haunting tune.

She screeched when she realized that the she was naked! The upper half of her sweaty and trembling body and her legs were exposed as a dark red colored silk was loosely covering - barely- only but a few parts of her bare body. She immediately pulled the sheets over her and sat up.

Where the hell was she? What has happened?

She blinked several times.

The last things she remembered was-

" _Pleasant dreams love?"_

Her eyes widened as a voice came out of the shadows.

Klaus!

Caroline instinctively pushed herself back surprised and hit her head on the headboard of the bed.

Klaus's eyes were glinting in the half lit room. Candles were alight and a fire was blazing in a beautiful fireplace made out of stone and marble.

She immediately covered herself better with the silk sheet as Klaus stepped out of the shadows; he then came forward and stood in front of her bed.

Her heart was wildly pounding in her chest and she felt completely lost and vulnerable as if she was the proverbial lamb ready to be led to the sacrifice. She adjusted the red sheet over her chest and under her arms as she furiously looked at him.

A long time ago she had shrunk on the far edges of a bed, terrified and helpless, afraid of what would happen next. It was the first morning she had spent with Damon Salvatore.

She refused to be intimidated like that ever again! She refused to be that scared little girl and how much more with Klaus!

"Klaus? What the hell!" she yelled but the only response she got was his smirk.

But that smirk made her pause.

It was not the one that she was used to. It wasn't cocky or ironic or even tender. It was not his playful Klaus trademark. It wasn't the one that always made her roll her eyes or snort at him. This was making her shiver in an unpleasant disturbing way.

She shifted on the silk sheets when she realized that they were the same she had seen and felt in her dream and she blushed. She then narrowed her eyes. The dream! It was too real. It felt real!

And he had asked her if she had pleasant dreams. As if he knew.

Had he given her that dream? Why? What was happening? Why was he here? Why was _she_ here? And where exactly _here_ was?

She then realized with panic that she didn't know where she was and her mouth hang open as she finally looked carefully the room she was in.

She was in a beautiful big room all made by stone and wood with hints of marble. Gold, gilt, bronze and ivory colors prevailed, blended in perfect harmony. The entire room was decorated in fanciful old French style. It looked as if it was taken out of another era. Rich colors and elegant ornate mirrors and curtains. Beautiful details all around. Antique and heirloom furniture. Astonishing paintings. Fine carved wood.

A room made for a princess.

But then reality came crashing down to her. This was not a fairytale. And if it was it was yet again one of the twisted Cinderella fetishes Klaus had!

This was not a page out of a fairytale; not when she was on a tall canopy bed with wooden frames all naked against her will! And all alone with…Klaus!

God! She was all alone with him. He had finally snapped. More accurately he had snapped her neck and he took her away. He had kidnapped her!

This wasn't good she realized. What had he done? Why was she here?

She held her breath as Klaus's eyes roved over her form. Her curves perfectly shaping under the soft sheets that provided no security whatsoever.

"What have you done?" she asked again with a trembling voice and pretended to be strong when all she felt was panic. And unfortunately she could tell that Klaus could tell.

He remained eerily silent. That silence was so disturbing that she wanted to scream to his face and attack him. But something told her that it would be a stupid thing to do. She didn't know what was going on but Klaus seemed detached, dangerous. He looked exactly like the insane Original everyone was afraid of before he came to Mystic Falls for the ritual.

She had seen another side of him though. A side that she couldn't see in his eyes now. She could not exactly pin point what was off but something certainly felt wrong.

She fisted the sheets in her palms and gritted her teeth. Her fear was giving its place to anger.

"Why am I here Klaus?" she asked yet again but this time in a more composed tone.

His face changed.

His eyes lit up and a smile formed in his lips and somehow she found herself trying to move further back to the bed.

"I have missed your company sweetheart," he confessed and as she opened her mouth to respond the door of the room opened and a woman got in carrying a shiny wooden trolley cart. She rolled it over next to Klaus and he dismissed her without taking his eyes of Caroline.

The woman left and closed the door behind her.

Klaus pointed towards the plates that were over the trolley.

"I didn't know what you preferred so I had the kitchen prepare you some of your favorite dishes," he said and she gulped. She harshly bit her lip as familiar enticing smells attacked her nostrils. Literally he had brought her to eat food that she _really_ liked and that logically only her mom and her friends could know that she liked.

"Klaus what is going on?" she asked once more this time more carefully but with anger consuming her.

"If you want anything you can use the intercom that is installed on the wall next to your bed," he instructed as if she didn't even speak and he pointed with his gaze at the button on the wall in the right side of her bed above the nightstand.

She didn't turn her head but stared at him frustrated.

"I **_want_** to go home!" she yelled at him angrily.

" _You are home_ ," he simply said before he turned and left the room. She incredulously watched him walk away as her body remained immobilized. This was extremely surreal.

Caroline's eyes widened as she heard the lock of the door turning. That had her body moving once she realized what had happened.

She shouted Klaus' name as she jumped of the bed securing the sheet around her body while running towards the door but when she reached it she could not even touch the handle.

Her eyes widened in fear and surprise as she stared at the sealed door. An invisible barrier was placed in front of the door meant to keep her in.

She took a step back terrified and her one hand ran through her messed up hair as the other held the sheet closer to her chest.

She looked around at the room hastily. What had seemed beautiful before now had turned into an ugly sight. This wasn't a room made for a princess. This was a golden cage.

It was night. The candlelight and the fire from the fireplace were the only things lighting up the room and bringing warmth into the freezing atmosphere.

The cold didn't affect her ever since she became a vampire. She didn't feel the low temperature as humans did but she could still tell that this place was really cold. It was _freezing_ cold actually.

The wooden floor under her bare feet felt ice cold as the ivory sheer curtains slightly swayed next to the window frames.

Her heart almost exploded when she saw the view that was expanding outside that window panel.

"It can't be," she whispered horrified and ran towards the window.

She gasped as she took in the view. She was definitely not in Mystic Falls anymore. All that she saw was an endless void. Countless mountains were all around. Mountains covered in ice and showy trees. She could see nothing else. Chaos and snow.

Where the hell had he taken her?

She held the sheet tighter around her form as her eyes filled with worry.

He had once promised her Rome, Paris and Tokyo. This didn't seem like it was any of those places. She realized frightened that she could literally be anywhere in the world. She couldn't even tell how much time had passed from the moment he took her from Mystic Falls.

She focused on her body. It was tired and something was making her feel dizzy and vampires didn't get dizzy. Unless…

She noticed that she felt weak and there also was a tingling burning sensation all over her body; at first she thought that all that came from the dream but now she could tell that it was hunger mixed with exhaustion.

 _Vervain_ she thought. He had used vervain on her. How long was she out? A low rumbling sound escaped her throat. Klaus could have taken her literally anywhere! She looked out of the window again.

She tried to understand where she was but it was impossible. All she could see in front of her and all around the window was sharp cliffs and darkness. Her vampire sight was the only thing that allowed her to watch in detail the landmark that spread in front of her far into the starless night.

She went and climbed over the soft cushions that were on the carved seat on the base of the alcove window and she tried to lean over the window's opening in hopes to get a better a view but yet again she collided with an invisible barrier that kept her trapped into the room.

She yelled frustrated and with her fist she hit the magical concealed blockade she couldn't even see but was confining her inside her prison.

She could gaze downwards though. It seemed as if the distance from the window to the ground had no end.

Her heart was now beating wildly and terror filled her soul and mind as she realized with finality that Klaus had literally imprisoned her. She was trapped and there was no way out.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** _ Once more. I am reposting _my_ story again. There are some minor changes in the chapters as I am posting them again and once the reposted chapters are up I will continue updating the story.

Thank you for reading.


	3. Indulge

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Third reposted chapter.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

Caroline was sitting on the center of the huge bed. She had her hands wrapped around her torso and watched with melancholy and boredom the view that expanded beyond the half closed stained glass doors of the window. It was afternoon and once again everything was covered in snow.

Three days had passed by. Three long days where she was trapped inside that stupid room. She had screamed and yelled and shouted but it had made no difference. Klaus never came and no one let her out. The invisible barriers were always up blocking her way to freedom.

An always polite woman came every day to her room to bring her food and water. With her fangs dropped and her killer instinct on edge she had tried to attack her in an attempt to move past her and to try to escape -in case the barrier was down once she was in the room- but obviously Klaus had taken his precautions. The woman, that also happened to be a witch, gave her an aneurism that forced her to kneel and stay immobilized for some moments until she would be left once again alone in her prison.

She could not escape and this was driving her mad. But what was way worse was that Klaus was actually starving her. He hadn't even given her a drop blood and her whole body now fiercely craved it.

She felt fire spreading inside her and her throat burned. It was as if the inside of her mouth was made of sandpaper and ash. The normal food they kept bringing her every day did nothing to sate her hunger for blood since the more she was left without blood the more she wanted it. And she was afraid that Klaus was going to take advantage of that. She was certain that he would. Many crazy ideas were coming to her mind but none was good. What if he wanted to desiccate her? But then again why would he want that?

 _What if he wanted to make her lose control?_

She could not allow that! She had to find a way to escape before that happened because the alternatives didn't appear that great.

She moaned as another wave of hunger attacked her. She had nothing to do in that room and that was also not helping since her mind was only concentrating on how much she was weakening and on how much she needed to feed.

She looked around helplessly. There was nothing that could help her. Klaus didn't even give her any alcohol. The food was always greatly cooked but it did nothing to make her blood cravings go away. At first it toned them down a bit but now she didn't even want to eat anything anymore.

She looked down at herself and even considered to bite her arm and feed on her own blood.

Logically she could hold on for more than three days without blood but Klaus had obviously used vervain on her when he got her in this place and that caused her body to weaken even more. And she did not even know for how long he had kept her unconscious and vervained before she woke up in this gilded cage. So the three days she counted could actually be much more and that thought left her dangling between panic and disorientation.

She looked at the mirror.

She was now wearing a beautiful short black dress made of silk but her skin was pale and her eyes hollow. Even her hair seemed to have lost their shine.

At least Klaus had provided her with clothes. She had had the time to search the whole room by now. Originally she looked for anything that could help her escape or anything to use as a weapon even if she knew that it would do her no good. Not against Klaus.

She didn't found anything like that but she did found a wardrobe full of elegant dresses. Most of them were quite revealing but it was better to wear a revealing piece than to have to parade around wrapped in a flimsy sheet. And how creepy was it exactly that Klaus knew her body's exact measurements?

She slightly jumped as the door opened and the woman that was usually bringing her food came in.

This time she was carrying –with extreme care- something different though. And quite delicate.

Caroline narrowed her eyes as the witch put a beautiful dark blue dress on the bed in front of her.

It was actually a satin blue gown. Formal and from the looks of it quite revealing too.

"Mr. Mikaelson has requested for you to wear this dress to dinner tonight," the woman politely informed her. Or more like announced Klaus's order to her before she left and locked the door behind her again.

Caroline looked at the dress as if she was ready to shred it to pieces but she controlled herself. She needed answers and…blood! She needed to get out of this room and she needed to talk to Klaus. More so she needed a chance to get out of this place.

So it looked like she was having formal dinner with Klaus. And somehow that seemed very dangerous to her.

* * *

The dress was hugging every curve of her body. It had a cut high up on her thigh and a very low cut in the back. Her back was left completely exposed and even a hint of the top of her bum was teasingly pronounced by the blue satin.

The very thin straps in her shoulders led to a very revealing cleavage leaving her breasts barely covered.

She had gulped when she had seen her form in the mirror. The dress was very provocative and it made her look sexy and regal. As if she was dressed to kill or…seduce. She looked both dangerous and vulnerable at the same time. Comfort and modesty aside the fashionista in her admired what she was seeing but everything else inside her screamed with rage and trepidation at how Klaus' Cinderella fetish was once more ruining her life. In that past this particular obsession of his seemed irritating and charming and silly and playful but now she was in real danger and she had to find a way out of this mess.

This was still Klaus. She could reason with Klaus right?

She closed her eyes and felt a shudder go through her as uncertainty claimed her.

She breathed deeply and steadied herself on top the beautiful and so elegant crystal shoes she was wearing. She let her hair down and didn't use any of the jewelry that was waiting for her on the dresser. She barely used any make up too. This was Klaus's sick fantasy and she was not going to participate to it any more than she had to.

She knew that she had to somewhat play along and that she had to at least try to reason with Klaus but even like that she had to keep some distance and to make sure she would find a way to get out of this stupid mess.

She looked at herself again in the mirror. She could do this. All she had to do was get through to him. She had done this before so she could do it again.

But when the clock hands pointed at the midnight hour and the witch came to escort her to her dinner with Klaus she could swear that her heart almost gave out.

Klaus was an obsessed Original and he was like the most dangerous being in the whole wide planet and she had to make him see reason. This somehow turned her stomach to knots.

The witch lowered the invisible barrier and for the first time in days she was finally able to get out of that room and yet she knew that it would be pointless to try to make a run for it.

The witch stepped in front of her and led the way. As Caroline followed her she noticed how majestic this whole place seemed. It looked like a castle. Or like what she thought a castle would look like. Wood and marble. Paintings and sculptures. Velvet curtains and invaluable objects. If she was not a captive in this glamorous _prison_ she would definitely appreciate her surroundings more.

And even like this she could still feel the wanderlust. This place looked amazing and huge. Obviously being a thousand years old Original actually paid off. Caroline wondered if this place indeed belonged to Klaus or if he had compelled it from someone else even though she knew that he actually owned that beautiful mansion back in Mystic Falls and Carol Lockwood once confessed to her that based on his donations to her charities Klaus seemed to actually have a great fortune. Caroline kept looking around in a daze as she followed the slender from of Klaus' minion.

The witch took her down the grand staircase and led her through a beautiful living room. She stopped in front of two carved wooden pillars and motioned to Caroline to move forward.

"Mr. Mikaelson is in the dining room," the woman simply said and left.

Caroline looked at her and then walked straight ahead;

Schubert's serenade could be heard in the distance and was coming closer with every step she took. So she followed the sound of the classical music until she finally walked into the dining room only to find Klaus dressed in an elegant black suit waiting for her.

He seemed threatening and alluring and she stopped on her tracks unsure of what to do or say. Every thought of reasoning with him was now gone. Being so close near him after everything he did to her and while he looked so certain and powerful awakened her insecurities. She felt as if she was once more the girly little Caroline she used to be as a human. She did not feel what he had once proclaimed her to be. She did not feel ageless, strong and fearless and she realized that this was what was angering her the most. And it was Klaus' fault as was her own. She became an easy victim. She did not even stand a chance against him from the start. What good being a vampire was if she could not even protect herself?

Caroline then realized that she had never felt like this when she was near Klaus. Not ever before. She had gotten used to feeling safe when he was around her, not that she would ever admit this out loud and certainly not to him, and now that feeling was gone. Here she was stranded possibly in the far ends of the world dealing not with a friend or a foe. She just could not understand this Klaus and she did not like being so defenseless and unable to get a clear reading him. She never had such a hard time seeing through him until now. It was all confusing and frustrating and left her without any weapons to use on him. Right now she could not use force or manipulation and possibly not even logic with him.

What was she going to do? What did he even want?

She took a deep sharp breath when he charmingly smiled at her and his eyes roamed all over her with a sexual hunger that made her gulp in fear and…anticipation? Her blood cravings were certainly messing with her head now! This Shakespearean nightmare had nothing seductive in it and she had nothing to look forward with anticipation. She really should remember this as she realized that this was actually a battle and she had to fight.

"Good evening sweetheart," Klaus welcomed her with an appreciative nod but she did not reply. She did not even blink. His suave pose and seductive smile did nothing but scare her even more and it seemed as if her spine was replaced by a steel rigid ruler while she stood unmoving.

He slowly approached her and she almost took a step back. Almost.

He placed his palm to her bare back and gestured for her to follow him to the dining table.

His touch made her feel uncomfortable and sent shivers trickle down her spine.

The table was perfectly made. Elegant plates, silver cutlery and crystal glasses. Roses and fine table linen.

Klaus helped her sit on the dining chair and with a well practiced move he placed a silk table napkin on her lap. His manners were impeccable but she didn't thank him. She just sat straight on her seat and remained silent.

He pointed towards the dishes in front of her.

"Beluga and the finest vintage," he gracefully told her.

"No thank you. This doesn't agree with me," she replied with an ice cold voice.

"The caviar or the champagne?" he asked her with a crooked smile.

She raised her head and looked at him defiantly.

"Being locked up."

Klaus smiled at her and went and took a chair and brought it next to her. He sat and gazed at her. She knew that she had bags under her eyes and that she looked tired but he didn't seem to notice that.

"Sometimes you should allow yourself to enjoy the finest things in life Caroline," he told her with a silky tone.

"How is being kidnapped by a maniacal Original a finest thing in life?" she hissed at him with anger.

Klaus's smile grew bigger.

"And here I thought we had become friends," he teased her with a playful voice and then looked at her intensely, "would you have come with me if I had asked nicely?" he simply asked her and she gritted her teeth.

"I didn't think so," he sarcastically responded and she gripped the napkin on her lap so hard that she almost ripped it.

"You can't escape me Caroline. You never could and never will. So why fight it?" he asked her with a soft voice that made her see red.

"Why are you doing this?" she yelled at him as she threw her napkin to the table. She tried to get up but she felt faint as a wave of bloodlust attacked her again and veins formed under her eyes.

She sat down again and groaned as she placed her hands over her face. The fangs in her gums hurt so badly!

She then felt Klaus's fingers travelling over her arm and she jumped on her chair. He looked at her intrigued and with a dark gaze that made her feel like the whole world was spinning.

She could not look away and she could not turn her eyes back to normal. Her vampiric veins ghosted on her features as Klaus leaned forward and cupped her face.

"You are so beautiful sweetheart and I won't allow you to hide your beauty anymore," he whispered to her and brought her face closer to him but she turned it to the side.

"Let me go," she pleaded but Klaus simply took her hand into his own and brought it to his lips. He kissed it and then allowed his thumb to draw patterns on the heated skin.

"Ever since you turned into a vampire you have had all these needs, all these thoughts and no one to share them with. You've changed and you are still changing aren't you my sweet Caroline? You can't talk to anyone about it. Not to your mother that underneath it all she still has a deeply rooted hatred for everything that you are. Not to your friends that simply expect from you to risk your life for them while denying your very own nature and your new found instincts as they keep shaming you just for being who you are supposed to be," he mused with a low voice and Caroline looked at him almost as if she was hypnotized.

"You are still so very young; you feel alone, you are transforming into something different. Something beautiful and yet intimidating. You do not understand it. You feel so disconnected, so confused. I know exactly how you feel sweetheart. I have told you before that you and I are the same and we are. I know exactly how you… _feel_. You are just in your start. I have walked on the same path you are on right now and I know what you are and what you can become," he whispered to her as he leaned closer to her face and looked at her lips.

"You can become more beautiful, more powerful, more extraordinary than you could ever imagine," he promised her.

"Let me teach you," he enticed her with a seductive voice that seemed like the devil's song to her. Tempting and capable to lead her straight to hell.

She breathed deeply as Klaus's lips almost touched her own and she leaned even closer to him. Her forehead rested on his as she breathed him in. And she held on that scent. Masculine and tempting. Inviting her in.

Flashes from the erotic dream he had given her appeared through her eyes and heat corrupted the skin between her legs.

"Give in to me Caroline," he dared with a husky voice.

And she was ready to do so. She didn't know if it was the bloodlust or simple lust. All she knew was that at that moment she wanted him. She wanted to walk the distance and let him do whatever he wanted with her. All that tension was clouding her mind but when she looked at his eyes she gasped.

There was no emotion in there. Only calculation. This was not the way Klaus was looking at her. The cold look he had was something that she had never seen in his eyes before and it scared her. It scared her so much that her face turned back to normal and ice ran in her veins.

She pushed him with her hands and tried to run away throwing her chair back and speeding in supernatural speed away from him but before she knew it he had materialized in front of her in seconds. He grabbed her by her upper arms and his pupils dilated when they held her gaze.

She stood still unable to look away.

He smirked at her and ran his hands over her bare arms. A ghost of a touch made of steel and poison.

"If this is the way you want to do this then so be it," he said with no emotion and she felt panic coursing through her.

He was going to compel her and she could do nothing about it.

"No more games sweetheart," he cruelly told her and a tear fell from her eye as she got more lost into the power of his compulsion.

"Until dawn comes I want you to act upon your desires Caroline; forget you inhibitions, forget your fears; no more resistance, no more hindrance; Until the sun comes up again you will follow your instincts and your needs; Let go love… _indulge,_ " he compelled her and let her go.

She took a step back and blinked as she looked at him with desperation for a moment before his compulsion swept through every conscious thought.

She breathlessly stared at him as desire consumed her whole. Her eyes turned vampiric again as her hands wrapped around his neck and brought his body crashing onto hers. She immediately kissed him desperately giving in to the deepest and darkest of her longings. All she wanted was to let go, to devour him, to… _indulge_.

And so she did.


	4. Darkest before dawn

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warning: Dark Smut**_

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 _ **A/N: Fourth reposted chapter.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

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His stubble was prickling her lips as their tongues battled for dominion. She could swear that all she wanted was to devour his breath and to get lost into all the sensations their kiss was creating deep inside her. She was losing control, she was fading fast. She could hear her own moans as his hands roamed over her uncovered back bringing her impossibly closer to him. She gripped his jacket's lapels harshly and the next thing she heard was a ripping sound as she tore his jacket to shreds.

She could feel the muscles of his back flexing underneath his shirt and his hands travelled lower to her hips and pressed her body onto his. Her hands travelled up and she felt the curls of his hair on the nape of his neck as she let her fingers enjoy their silky texture.

This felt more like a dream and she was divided between logic and desire. Her logic, her sensibilities and her longings could not be any more further apart than they were right now.

If it wasn't for her hunger for blood she would have believed that this was one more dream of his but it was real. And she could not stop. She wanted more. She wanted him.

It was as if her mind was waging war with her needs and deep inside she knew that it was his compulsion that made her so reckless and allowed her to give in but that kiss was silencing all her inner will and so she let her hands dip between them and reach for his belt. As she was about to undo it she felt his hands stopping her and he broke their kiss.

She moaned displeased and looked at him breathlessly. The desire in his eyes set her whole body on fire. A fire so demanding that drove her mad.

His hands gripped her shoulders and he looked straight into her eyes.

"This is what you want sweetheart?" he asked her with a husky voice and in a flash she pushed him back to the table. The dishes and the glasses fell to the floor and broke to thousand pieces as she cupped his face and kissed him again with abandon but once again he stopped their kiss and she growled annoyed.

He chuckled and she pouted. He turned them over so she was now the one trapped between his body and the table. She tried to reach for him again but he pushed her hands to her sides and immobilized her. He slid his leg between hers and she immediately wrapped her legs around his body drawing him closer.

He leaned in and nibbled at her neck. She threw her head back and a throaty moan left her lips. She felt his whisper in her ear warming her as the heels of her shoes scratched the material of his pants sensually drawing lines up and down over his legs.

"Remember love, no inhibitions, no hindrance, no more resistance," he reminded her and the power of his compulsion created a bigger haze into her mind and took completely over.

"You can have it all Caroline, all your desires, all your needs; tonight you can have everything _you want_ ," he taunted her and then his gaze imprisoned her own.

"What do you want Caroline? Be honest. Right now, right here what do you truly desire?" he asked her with a tempting voice but before she could answer she felt the scent of blood reaching her nostrils.

She cast her gaze downward and noticed that a broken piece of glass had cut her knee. She was so lost in her desire for Klaus that she hadn't even felt it when it happened but now she could smell the blood that was trailing down her own skin and her fangs emerged.

"Blood, I want blood," she all but moaned feeling blood rushing into her eyes as the veins above her cheeks appeared and tainted her face.

Klaus's hand cupped her face and his thumbs caressed the vampiric veins of her face and she closed her eyes as her need for blood was becoming so overwhelming that was clouding her judgement and was so devastating that she felt as if she was standing to the edge of an abyss.

"And blood you shall have sweetheart," he promised and before she could react she felt cold air hitting her skin.

When she opened her eyes she noticed that they were not inside the mansion anymore. They were outside. The wind was howling and everything was frozen. In front of her acres of ice and trees loomed underneath the night sky that seemed darker than ever.

In the distance mountains covered with ice and snow expanded in the horizon with their rocky cliffs and their sharp edges.

Silence and cold were surrounding her and yet the air was so clear and so crispy that she felt as if she could breathe deeply and freely for the first time in her life.

Klaus turned her to his side so he could look into her eyes.

"You are free to explore everything sweetheart; my witch has set barriers around the establishment to keep you in but you won't encounter them for miles," he informed her and she nodded as she realized that she was still trapped in this place but she didn't care. All she wanted right now was blood. She was starving.

And then she heard it. It was a faint whisper. It seemed as if a person was crying. She furiously blinked and Klaus extended his hand and pointed towards the trees in front of them.

"What are you waiting for, love?" he asked and Caroline looked at him confused.

"What have you done?" she whispered worriedly and Klaus simply knelt down in front of her and let his hands travel down her legs. She gulped as the warmth from his hands was so different from the cold that surrounded them that made her feel as if he was bringing a blazing fire to her skin.

He picked her one foot up from the ground and removed her shoe. He did the same with her other and she felt her feet connecting with the ice beneath her. She curled her toes and felt the show on her skin.

Klaus softly kissed her knee at the place it got cut before he slowly stood up licking the drop of blood he gathered from her skin. She held her breath and his eyes travelled over her form with a smirk as he threw her shoes carelessly to the ground.

"Well my little Cinderella tonight we will be mixing our fairytales," he said and went and stood behind her.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and dove his head to the crook of her neck.

"Your prey is waiting for you," he eagerly said and she swallowed hard.

"Klaus I-"

"You want blood," he simply interrupted and she felt the hunger consuming her whole and she dug her nails into his hands that had settled around her waist.

"This is wrong," she whispered mostly to herself as she realized that the cries that were coming from deep inside the woods were coming from a human. And were calling her.

"And yet it feels so right doesn't? Do you know why that is?" he huskily asked her before he abruptly turned her around.

She whimpered when she felt his hands gripping her shoulders so hard that she felt her bones cracking and she screamed in pain.

The pain made her blood lust increase to a tenfold. Her adrenaline was now kicking in.

"You need to feed and humans are food," he sharply said and she shook her head. He smiled impressed with the fact that she could still fight against her hunger and his compulsion even if it was a lost cause.

"It's still wrong," she muttered and he gripped her shoulders even harder making her yell in pain. Bruises bloomed on her pale icy skin.

"It is wrong with human eyes but we are not human anymore. We are vampires; we are holding human life in our grasp. It is ours for the taking. You were created to be a hunter. To hunt your prey," he ruthlessly said and he caressed her bruised shoulders. She hadn't fed for days and that was slowing down her healing but was also making her hunger more demanding.

"Blood is our desire Caroline, you might want to fight it, to deny it, to run away from it but murder is in your blood," he whispered as his voice was the poison of temptation.

"Blood is your _darkest desire_ , the one thing that sooner or later you will **_indulge_** into. It is who you are. Stop fighting it. Embrace it. Mine it. Savor it," he pressed and she closed her eyes feeling the walls closing in.

Indulge...indulge... _indulge_...his compulsion was weaving a trap inside her and she was caught in it.

The pain was increasing and she almost fell over but it was not just the physical pain. It was psychedelic, it was desire, it was need.

She was trying to fight his compulsion but it was useless. She fell on her knees in front of him feeling his eyes intently fixated on her from above.

She touched the snow and moaned in pain. She was not one of those vampires that only lived in ethics and goodness and did not believe that shades of grey and shades of darkness didn't exist. However this was Klaus' game not hers. She didn't want to become a monster. Not like this. And yet she could not fight it. It was too much. It was too much because deep down she was the one that wanted this.

Because deep down this was her darkest desire. The basic fundamental need for blood.

Klaus was right. Blood was her desire and murder was in her blood.

She screamed and she sped towards the woods. Her need for blood was so great that the voices in her head silenced as all her instincts took over.

She was speeding inside the silence and the snow. She was concentrating on every sound around her and she ran faster towards the sound of the wails and of the erratic scared heartbeats. A tempo she could not avoid nor run away from it. She could only run towards it. She could feel Klaus on her tail but she did not care.

She ran even faster, her figure only a blur in the night as she finally came closer to her prey. A young woman that could not be any older than her. She had blond hair like hers and she was crying and stumbling around the woods as she was trying to find an escape and to save herself. She was obviously freezing and she had cuts all over her body. Blood was pouring on the white snow and the beating of her heart was so clear and enticing to Caroline's ears that no other sound in the world existed.

She sped in front of the girl with her fangs gleaming in the darkness and the girl fell over screaming but her screams were soon muffled as Caroline grabbed her by her hair and pierced the skin of her neck with her fangs.

The girl screamed louder when Caroline raised her head up with blood flowing in and out her mouth and licked her lips in a delirium before she pushed the girl down to the snowy ground, straddled her and then yanked her closer to her. She bit her again this time harder than before and sucked the blood with raging fervor.

It was euphoric, divine. It was glorious.

Her victim was squirming, fighting and begging but Caroline would not stop. She was tearing the flesh frantically and was ripping the human neck apart as she was losing herself to the blood she so desperately needed. Her hold was breaking and shuttering bones mercilessly.

The blood in her mouth felt like honey and home. But it was more than that. It was not just the blood. It was also another hunger. Another hunger that demanded destruction, sacrifice, death. A hunger that was turning her into a hunter. A monster. One that made her enjoy the kill even more than the blood.

All her senses were now more alert than ever. She was alert and yet at ease. The heartbeat of the girl was slowing down but Caroline didn't want to waste even a drop so she kept biting and sucking and drinking and taking in all the blood she could take and leave nothing to the human that was now just a lifeless mangled corpse in her hands.

Caroline closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure and then she opened them only to see two lifeless gruesome orbs staring her back in terror. She was looking to the color of death. A sight so grotesque and yet so appealing. Blond hair like hers had spilled in the snow that was now tainted with blood. A broken body beneath her.

Caroline stumbled back and fell to the ground and then she looked down at herself. She felt more alive than ever. She felt complete. Blood, she was covered in blood. It was sticky and warm and she was bathed in it. She could feel it on her face, on her hair, on her body, on her hands, on her dress. It was everywhere.

She stood up with trembling legs only to realize that she was standing in the heart of darkness. In the darkest place of her existence she found the most beautiful colors and all were crimson red.

She heard two hands clapping behind her and she immediately turned around only to find Klaus applauding with a satisfied smirk.

"Bravo sweetheart! I knew that you had it in you all along…it takes one to know one after all" he praised and that mockery and admiration ignited such rage inside her that before she could control herself she was attacking him with all her strength.

Both of their bodies flew in the air and landed to the bark of a tree behind them cracking it in the middle before they fell to the ground behind the destroyed tree.

Leafs, pieces or wood and show showered them as Caroline was punching Klaus with all her strength while screaming and also kicking him.

She kept screaming that she hated him and he kept laughing as if her screams and her punches had no effect on him and they probably didn't but she didn't stop.

She didn't stop until he turned her over and pinned her to the ground. She tried to free herself and tried to kick him of her but it was useless.

He leaned in and licked the blood from her face and she tried to bite him but his tongue just kept lapping the liquid saccharine essence from her face.

"How does it feel sweetheart?" he asked her with a dark gaze that was creating new desire in her.

"I hate you!" she snarled at him and tried to hit him with her head but he easily avoided it.

"Why love? We are not different you and I, not anymore," he taunted and tears filled her eyes and then Klaus's gaze changed. It became electric.

"It feels good doesn't it?" he asked her with a daunting voice as he grinded his body on hers and she moaned as a new need was coming to life. His compulsion still lingered and between her and the sunrise still hours existed. Hours where her darkest desires demanded to be felt and acknowledged.

How it felt? God, it felt good! As if she was reborn. The blood lust was still there but another lust was taking over.

She could still feel the blue swirl of his eyes immobilizing her. She caught her bottom lip in her teeth and tasted the girl's blood on her tongue all over again.

"I want more," she whimpered in shameful admission and he tenderly smiled at her.

He let go of her and allowed his fingers to slide over her shoulders. She breathed in and felt her need for him consuming her. She was on a blood high and she still felt the thrill of the kill. And he was too close. She wanted him. She wanted to feel him inside her. She wanted everything. Her need was like blood to the skin that was entering her body and was going all the way down to the bone. She had nowhere to run to. She was trapped and she already felt her arousal building up.

In comparison to what she felt she gently placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed her upper body slightly up. He allowed her to do so and he leaned back as she was rising her body higher and closer to him. She turned them over so she was on top of him and she straddled him.

She kissed him hard and felt his hands on the straps of her dress before he pushed them down freeing her breasts and then he easily tore the whole fabric from her body. As the cold air hit her nude form she moaned into his mouth before her own hands ripped his shirt off and wandered over his firm chest.

The winds rose and snow fell over them. They were entombed in ice but she felt only raging fire.

His hands roamed all over her naked back and she undid his belt and pushed his pants and boxers off his body.

She broke the kiss and wickedly smiled at him before she started peppering kisses all over his neck and chest. She used her tongue and her nails to excite him and soon enough his throaty moans were reaching her ears. She allowed her fangs to graze his skin and slowly kept moving lower but when she broke his flesh and tasted his heavenly blood he harshly turned them over and growled to her with yellow eyes and gleaming to the darkness fangs.

"My blood is not yours to take little vampire. It comes with a price. A steep one," he warned as she tightly wrapped her legs around his waist.

She arched her back and screamed when his tongue played with her hard nipple before his fangs bit hard to her tender flesh and sucked her blood. His poison ran to her veins and she laughed like a crazy person.

In the haze of her mind she could still feel the compulsion working inside her. This was wrong and yet it felt so right. It was what she wanted but it made her mad that she was giving him what he wanted.

So now she wanted to draw blood. His blood. To hurt him, to destroy him, to have him, to seduce him, to make him all hers. She wanted to break him and to keep all the pieces for herself.

Before she could even realize what she was doing she had sunk her teeth to his shoulder and soon enough their bodies began rolling over the dirt and the snow both claiming submission. They battled and fought and fucked like wild beasts.

He was thrusting inside her with all he had and she was clenching around him as if her whole body was made for this.

"You are mine," he growled as he pushed inside her while his fangs scrapped her neck.

She turned them over and fisted her hands to his hair. Her blonde hair spilled all over his chest. Both their bodies covered in leafs, blood, dirt and snow. Both with bruises and scratches. Both with sweat; both vibrating with need.

"Your blood is not mine" she rasped as her chest rose and fell rapidly, "as I am not yours to take Klaus," she declared with half a breath as she rolled her hips and pushed herself down on him setting a new rhythm. She was the one taking him now and it felt good. _So good._

"This is why you will give yourself to me on your own volition love," he grunted when her nails dug inside his flesh and he brought her even closer enjoying the feel of her body over his own.

"Why would I ever do that?" she breathlessly asked him as his hands stroked the back of her thighs and gripped them hard while he licked the blood that was spilled in her neck and painted her breasts.

"Because I am deep inside your mind, your soul… I am your deepest desire," he whispered, his tone a silk of temptation, as he accompanied his words with powerful thrusts of his hips driving her mad.

"That's…not… not _true_ ," she refused and threw her head back lost in desire.

She panted and he laughed in amusement before his body was once again covering hers.

He stilled his movements and she groaned. She tried to move. But he didn't allow it.

"But it is, isn't it? Your darkest side, the one you so desperately hide underneath all that false pretense of your human light craves for me," he crooned almost comfortingly while his fingers worked between her legs causing her whole body to tighten with need. His touch was electrifying and was lost inside her wetness; pushing in and out, swirling and pinching and dipping deeper and deeper hitting her pleasure spots. Causing fire to erupt. Each conscious and unconscious part of hers begging for release.

"You keep trying to convince yourself that you want to forget all the terrible things I've done when in reality everything I am excites you, tempts you, exhilarates you," he cooed and she moaned.

She was shuttering in pieces for him. Each one a memory; each one a sin.

" _Stop_ ," she whispered with tears in her eyes. This was too much. Blood was roaring inside her veins and rushing back into her heart causing it to beat faster and faster and to want more and more.

"The darkest parts of yourself that you loathe so much are connected with me Caroline. We are the same, we want the same things, we need the same things, we desire the same things," he tempted her and kissed her.

She blinked furiously feeling the sting of her tears and then she gave in closing her eyes and feeling the tears falling as she wrapped her hands around her neck and brought him impossibly closer.

His words, his accent, everything those lips whispered and moaned were becoming the most powerful aphrodisiac she had ever succumbed to.

"You want power," her hips met his powerful thrusts as he pounded inside her, "freedom," trembles broke all over her body, her spine bending, her back arching. "You want the world," the entire world was spinning aimlessly around them. "You want everything I can give you," she locked her feet to the small of his back as he vigorously thrusted inside her. "Everything I have promised you," each movement bringing her closer to oblivion.

"You my love want everything," he kept whispering between kisses and thrusts, "Everything I am and everything you can be by my side," he was backing his hips away and then pushing them forward with all of his strength. He was breaking her bones but it felt as if it was a gentle caress.

He was taking her body and her soul. Her mind was screaming, her body was surrendering. He was her deepest darkest desire.

"But most of all," he smirked as his cock lunged inside before sliding out slowly only to push back into her heat with inhuman strength making her scream, "what you truly want to do is to… _indulge…_ don't you?" he played with her need and with the power of his compulsion that rendered her helpless to his touch.

His hands fondled with her breasts, his lips curled around the wound in her neck as her own fangs claimed his own neck and drank him in. He rolled his hips and a pleasure with no boundaries consumed her. A contradictory feeling, a tingling sensation. Life was ebbing away and death was settling in.

Her moans mixed with his growls. She was losing control. This was not love, this was not passion. This felt like hate, like darkness, like a force so strong that was sweeping everything in its passage leaving only cinders and broken dreams but it felt right. It felt like the place she truly belonged to.

"What I want is… _you_ ," she cried and she felt as if she was drifting away, floating to the unknown.

He sinisterly smirked, his whole face bathed in the night's glow. He moved slowly inside her then making her feel cherished and dotted before he set an insane skillful rhythm that made her feel as if she was a shooting exploding star and she matched his movements with everything she had.

And he kept fucking her under the falling snow and she lost herself completely. And as he was wildly moving inside her and as her nails dag in the naked skin between his shoulder blades, drawing blood and moans from the devil that was claiming her body and her soul, her hazy gaze remained fixated on the starless dark sky above them.

It was as if the darkness had enveloped her and swallowed her whole.

Dawn was still so far away. In truth it was completely out of her reach.


	5. Sunrise

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: Fifth reposted chapter.  
**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

She stirred in her sleep as a ray of sunshine reached her closed eyelids. The slightest warmth that tingled her senses and she immediately opened her eyes startled. Memory after memory violently entered her mind. She remembered everything she had done the night before and she pushed her nails in the inside of her palms. This was not a nightmare. It was real.

She held her breath as tears gathered in her eyes and slowly fell on the black sheets she was on.

She harshly bit her lip and slowly turned her head around to see Klaus sleeping soundly next to her, his arm wrapped around her torso. They were all naked all over the sheets, their legs entangled and he was holding her possessively. She also noticed the dried blood all over their naked bodies and she cringed.

She started breathing erratically as she realized what she had done and that her body still craved that dried blood and much more. It was as if all her senses were magnified. She moaned and her mouth salivated while the taste of warm blood was still in her mouth. She was not starving anymore but a new hunger was born. She forced herself not to scream as she realized that the rays of sun that started illuminating the room spoke of the breaking dawn. Sunrise was coming and was breaking the spell of Klaus's hypnosis. Deep under his dissolving compulsion she was still there. The person she was was still there. She had to believe that she was not the monster Klaus had forced her to become.

She looked around and noticed that this room was not the one Klaus had kept her in for the past days.

She realized that this was probably Klaus's room. It was all made of mahogany wood. It looked dark and quite gloomy. Heavy furniture and dark colors. It looked as if this room came out of a different era too and she realized that this could actually be true since Klaus was really old.

However her eyes focused on the heavy door on the other side. Hopefully it was not locked and Klaus would not place a magical barrier in his own room right?

This could be her way out!

She just had to make sure she would not wake him up. This could be her one and only chance to escape.

However she had to be extremely careful. She closed her eyes and focused on Klaus's breathing. It was calm and constant. He was sleeping deeply and when she opened her eyes again she looked at him for a moment and could not actually believe how angelic he looked in his sleep. The one side of his unshaven head was nestled on the pillow and the side of his face that she could see seemed boyish, sweet and at peace and she almost wanted to run her fingers all over his stubble.

She cursed herself for her stupidity! He had kidnapped her, imprisoned her, starved and compelled her. He had literally forced her to be something she did not want to be!

All she felt, all she should feel, for him was hatred and nothing else.

She bit her lip and slowly placed her hand over his. He did not move an inch and she breathed out in relief. Her face contorted with worry and she gently pushed his hand a little bit away and maneuvered her body in an attempt to disengage her body from his embrace. It was not easy and she was doing it slowly and quietly and prayed for him not to wake up.

She grimaced when he moved and slightly rearranged his body behind her and she stopped breathing all together but when she turned her head around she realized that Klaus was still asleep. He was still breathing in the same way.

She pulled her legs away from his and even more slowly she sat up and rotated her body until her toes touched the wooden polished floor. She was being extremely careful and hoped once again that the floor would not creak underneath her weight.

She noticed that one of the sheets had fallen on the floor and she reached down, picked it up and wrapped it around her body as she stood up. Her hair fell on her half exposed back and even though she wanted to put on some clothes, maybe one of Klaus's shirts or something, she realized that she did not have the time or the luxury. The sheet would have to do.

She looked at Klaus's sleeping form again.

How could he have been so cruel with her? He used to like her or so she had once believed. More so. Once she had believed that he truly cared. So how could he abuse her like this? Compel her so easily. Why? He was tearing her to pieces and he didn't even seem to care.

She shook her head. She would have time to think of these things once she was out of here and only when the danger had passed. But for now she had to find a way out.

And then what? Would she have to keep running away from him for the rest of her life like Katherine?

No! She could not think about this now!

She tiptoed towards the door ignoring the weird sense of déjà vu that consumed her. She had lived this again. Flashes of memory from her first night with Damon Salvatore evaded her mind and her stomach churned. She was reliving the same nightmare all over again only this time a man that had sworn never to hurt again was the one she was terrified of.

She could not live the same hell again. She could not turn back into a compelled sex toy for someone stronger than her. She would rather die. She could not take it. This is why she had to get out of here and away from Klaus.

Her only chance was to sneak off and vanish. But how the hell would she escape the barriers around the whole estate?

She furrowed her brow and wished that this was a precaution Klaus had used only for last night. She was so desperate that she didn't even want to contemplate of another possibility. She did not want to think what would happen if she would fail and if she would have to face Klaus after that.

She wrapped her hand around the doorknob and as soundlessly as she could she turned it only to discover that the door was…locked.

She closed her eyes in defeat and bit her lower lip. Shivers ran down her spine and sudden goosebumps covered her whole as she turned around only to find Klaus standing just a breath away from her. He must have been awake all the time and she hadn't even heard him approaching her. He was so creepy and stealthy. He was making her mind spin.

"Good morning sweetheart," he nonchalantly said as he stood in front of her in all his naked glory.

She awkwardly gulped as her eyes slowly roamed all over his body and she readjusted the sheet around her body and wrapped it even more tightly around her chest. It was a reaction based on instinct.

She raised her eyes to his only to see him smirking wickedly at her. He took a step forward and she instinctively took a step back and her back collided with the door.

"Were you going somewhere?" he asked her as he leaned over and kissed her neck. She swallowed hard as he was peppering her neck with warm kisses and she did not move at all.

"Sneaking away is not that nice, love," he whispered in her ear and bit her earlobe sending jolts of thrill and anticipation all over her body. His tone was threatening and instead of scaring her it was making her go all weak in the knees.

She held the sheet on her body with her one hand and she placed her other on his chest and gently but firmly pushed him back.

She tried to smile at him and pretend that everything was okay.

"I think I'd like to go back to my room now," she softly said trying not to enrage him.

Klaus smiled and raised an eyebrow at her. He took her hand from his chest and brought to his lips and kissed it.

"This is your room now love, yours and mine," he told her and she shook her head in protest.

"Your place is here with me sweetheart," he pressed and opened his hands widely to show her that this room was now hers too.

"No, no, I shouldn't have….I…I don't know what came over me last night," she refused with a trembling voice and her breath hitched on her throat when he cupped her face and she pushed herself further back to the surface of the door in fear.

"Caroline, accept me and you will grow to love me," he tempted her with a seductive voice as he looked intently in her eyes.

However there was something so cold and insincere there that terrified her and then she realized that this was not getting her anywhere.

This was Klaus! She had never played his games and she would not start now!

" _I am_ in love!" she spat at him and noticed how his gaze turned to ice instantly. It was a chilling feeling that swept all over her as he gripped her head brutally and made her wince.

"Tyler," he bit out with no emotion in his voice and banged her head violently to the door and she closed her eyes as she felt pain spreading in the back of her head.

She opened her eyes and looked straight back at him with defiance and he leaned over so he could reach her ear.

"Tyler is a dead man," he whispered in her ear with a deadly tone and she froze completely and shook her head as much as she could since his grip was unyielding.

Klaus was already hunting Tyler down. He already planned to kill him and now he seemed more determined than ever. What had she done?

"Nn..no," she moaned in fear and he chuckled.

He let his hands wonder over her face and outline the shape of her lips before a smirk appeared on his features.

"However for a woman that claims to be in love with another you were quite exquisite last night sweetheart," he taunted and she looked at him repulsed.

"What happened last night will never happen again!" she vowed with tears in her eyes as she remembered everything that had transpired between them. The heat, the need, every dark moment that made her whole body still throb with desire. And then her mind went to Tyler and guilt enveloped her.

Klaus humorlessly smiled at her and played with one unruly golden lock of her hair. He twirled the silken thread over his fingers before he stared back at her with possession marking his gaze.

"I have to disagree on that sweetheart; Last night was just a prelude. We have only begun," he darkly promised and she swatted his hand away.

"No!" she persisted and that earned her a look full of irony.

"Why not sweetheart? We both know that you have immensely enjoyed yourself last night; why deny yourself the pleasure?" he said with a husky voice as he approached her again. His nakedness making her feel even more uncomfortable even though he didn't seem to mind at all.

"You are despicable," she angrily yelled at him and he laughed, "and for the love of God can you just put something on?" she complained looking at his eyes with distain as she was growing more furious by the moment.

"You didn't seem to mind last night," he crudely reminded her and she blushed as his penetrating gaze travelled slowly over her form. The sheet could not hide her from him. He had already seen and touched every nook and cranny of her body.

He trapped her between the door and his body and her heart started beating faster and faster.

"Remember love? Everything I've done to you…Everything you've done to me…" he tempted her as he stared at her upturned face and eventually focused his gaze on her soft lips that were trembling with an exciting mixture of fear and want.

Memories started storming in her mind in such speed that she almost lost her balance. Oh yes she remembered all too well. And with each painful memory reality was settling in. She did not only remember her moments with Klaus. She also remembered what she had done to that scared girl and every emotion she had was now turning to black. Those images were tearing her apart in the same way she had ripped her victim to pieces. She remembered how brutal she had been. She remembered the kill. She remembered the way she had changed into a…. _monster._

" _What have I done?"_ she mumbled feeling lost.

She felt as if she was losing herself into the pits of misery.

She was staring straight at Klaus' eyes but she was not seeing him. A sinister form had replaced him and she could find no empathy there. He could not comfort or reassure her. He was the one responsible. She felt cold and the weight of everything she had done was now on her shoulders and was bringing her down. The guilt was overwhelming.

" _I killed a woman_ ," she whispered horrified as a lonely tear rolled down her face.

Klaus rolled his eyes at her antics.

"Aren't you getting a little bit overdramatic sweetheart? You have killed before after all," he dismissed and at that exact moment everything she had ever felt for him changed. Her mind was clouded and the pain she felt divided her emotions into those of the past and of the present.

This was his fault! Everything was his fault. Her love for everything she held dear and valued was now clouded by hate and all her hate was focused on him!

Through the open window the wind roared and show came rushing in but the coldness between them seemed stronger and fueled her heart more with misery and darkness.

She hated him! She hated him! God she hated him!

"Not like this!" she screamed at him and pushed him back.

She fell on her knees in front of him and the black sheet that was wrapped around her seemed like a black wedding dress ready to follow her to the grave. Her eyes were red from her tears as she recalled the way her father had tortured her because he believed that she was a monster and now Klaus had turned her into one because now she craved to kill again. She wanted it. She needed it! She wanted to suck the life and the blood from another person and to be savage and brutal about it. It felt good, normal, euphoric. It felt like her calling and she was out of control.

 _What has she done?_

 _What had she become?_

"I never-" she tried to convey any sentence that would defend her against her own actions but there was none. She felt helpless against her own self. Sunrise had finally come and it felt like death.

It hurt too much. It was too much. She could not handle this but she refused to turn it off. She refused to give that to Klaus too. She refused to give up on her soul.

But the stain in her heart was getting stronger and stronger and was spreading. It was black and unrelenting. It was almost evil and she was not evil, she could not be. She could not be a monster, she was a vampire but she was not a born killer. She had to believe that, she had to hold on to that, to not lose control of the feeling that kept her sane and in control. She was a vampire, she had control, she relished in her nature and she did not want to become human again but in the same moment she was not a monster either. She was not a mindless killer that killed anything in sight and then fucked like an animal over the blood and the destruction she had created. This was not her.

It could not be her. _Could it?_

Klaus crouched down and his fingers titled her head up. She looked at him with so much hope. She wanted so much to get through to him somehow. To make him become the man that would help her again, that would want to cherish her light and not extinguish it.

She wanted for that moment the Klaus she knew to come back and to hold her. To support her. To help her. She wanted him to be there for her.

"You never what sweetheart? You never realized how much of a monster you can be or how much of a monster you truly are?" he cruelly taunted and she screamed and jumped on him.

The veins in her eyes appeared, her fangs extended and her nails scratched him everywhere.

She wanted to hurt him so badly. To make him bleed. This was his fault! She kept attacking him into a haze of insanity. Screaming at him as he laughed and took in her hits like he enjoyed them. She kicked, spat, threw punches at him but her anger was not dissipating. It was becoming rage. It was becoming wrath. Blind and consuming.

She hated him so much! God she hated him as much as she hated herself right now.

Eventually Klaus had enough and pushed her back.

"Enough Caroline," he ordered her with a bored voice and a sound of pure frustration escaped her throat as she attacked him again.

He flashed on the side and his hand circled her throat, his fingers curling around her flesh effectively chocking her as he lifted her up and threw her back to the wall. Her back hit the stones and he immediately immobilized her there. His hand was still wrapped around her neck and he was holding her still on the wall. Her feet were dangling underneath her unable to reach the floor. No air reached her lungs now. The sheet fell from her body exposing her form and no matter how much she tried to make him let go of her it was pointless.

"You forget who you belong to now love!" he warned her.

"Like hell I belong to you," she coughed with difficulty.

"But you do, you gave yourself to me and now there is no turning back," he claimed and crushed his body over hers. And it felt wrong.

"The only way you could ever have me was by compulsion," she spat disgusted and he let her go and she fell on his feet defeated. She tried to sooth the skin of her neck with her hand and to breathe again but refused to watch Klaus as she brought her knees up to cover her naked body.

He kneeled in front of her chuckling.

"I never compelled you do anything you didn't want sweetheart. On the contrary. I simply gave you the excuse to act on what you wanted," he mocked and she shook her head in despair.

"That is not true!" she yelled at him, her green eyes a stormy sea of pain.

Klaus shook his head and gently pushed some of her hair behind her ear. She flinched at that but stood still.

"But it is sweet Caroline; hate me all you want but you cannot hide anymore. You don't belong to me because we had ravished each other all night long sweetheart. You belong to me because I am what you desire; lie to yourself all you want but we both now that I am deeply rooted in that beautiful head of yours and in your very nature. You can't get me out love," he argued, his eyes fixated on her, his voice slightly mocking.

"Go to hell!" she cursed and his eyes shone with excitement.

"Where to you think we are love?"

Caroline could not believe what she was hearing. This could not be Klaus. This could not be the man that had once thanked her for her honesty. This could not be the man that made her laugh in their date. The man that wanted her friendship and her love. That valued beauty and art and light.

That man that used to look at her with so much feeling and admiration; that man was long gone. Everything good about him seemed to be gone. _He_ seemed to be gone.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" She screamed at him, "it is if as you don't even…"

Her eyes widened as realization suddenly dawned on her. How had she missed this? The blackness in his eyes was not created by his evilness or his hate. There was no hate. Because hate was an emotion and there was no emotion left in his eyes. At all.

His gaze was empty. Too empty.

She was staring into…. _nothingness._

" _care_ …" she whispered horrified and scrambled back as he smiled a slow humorless smile at her.

"Oh my God…you…you turned it off…" she panted with horror and his smile grew bigger.

Before she could do anything Klaus's hands cupped her face and with a swift move he snapped her neck.

* * *

She fell forward and Klaus held her limp body in his arms. He effortlessly picked her up and went to the bed where he gently placed her unconscious form on the mattress.

His eyes roamed over her nakedness and he traced the column of her long neck and travelled lower to the curve of her right breast and to her toned stomach.

She was exquisite. He was not sated. Last night only made him want her more.

He pushed her blond hair out of her face and her head rolled on the side. He smiled at her almost tenderly but then furrowed his brow.

Her presence was cracking him. It was as if a part of him was fighting against him and was demanding from him to turn it back on.

And all for her. For Caroline Forbes.

This could not be normal.

There had to be a logic explanation over this. The wolf inside him wanted to claim her and the man buried deeper inside wanted to break free and to comfort her.

His scowl grew bigger and he almost felt a hint of rage boiling right underneath the surface. Caroline was summoning his emotions back. He pushed them down and refused to allow to that little girl to control him in that way.

She was not important. She couldn't be. He would keep her here and fuck her day and night if he had to in order to take her out of his system and then he would rip of her heart and be done with it.

However he needed answers first. He was a thousand years old and even when he had his emotions on no other woman had affected him as much as Caroline. Not ever.

This attraction seemed unnatural especially now that he had turned off his emotions.

He got up and went to his closet. He quickly got dressed and then he took out a box from one of the closet's hidden drawers.

He opened it and the blade inside it glimmered.

He gripped the handle and took it out of the box along with a vial that was in it.

He approached Caroline and hoped that some of her blood was still left inside her veins since with her snapped neck her heart was not pumping blood anymore and he did not want to wait until she would wake up. He didn't want her to know he had taken her blood and he didn't want to compel anymore either. The prospect of compelling her again was creating a bitter taste in his mouth and he could not understand why. But most of all he had to mentally compose himself before having another confrontation with her. He didn't want to face her now that she knew that he had turned it off. It seemed wrong somehow. She would look at him differently and that just seemed… wrong.

Klaus gazed at her again and narrowed his eyes. The girl was making him weak. He had to find out why. Thankfully she had fed properly last night so he hoped that this would be enough. She had drained a human and had taken a lot of his blood too. Hopefully some was left inside her veins even if he had to push it and drain it out of her.

He sat next to her naked body and his eyes praised her form once again. He might be void of emotions but he could still admire beauty. And Caroline's beauty could not be disputed. Her alabaster smooth skin and her curves would tempt even a saint and he most certainly was not one.

However those thoughts would have to wait.

He gently pushed her legs open, enjoyed the sight and brought the blade over her thigh and ripped her femoral artery open.

He pressed her skin with the blade and his hands until blood started pouring out. He collected some inside the vial and cupped it with the lid.

He then brought the blade to his mouth and licked the blood out of it. With Caroline dead right now her skin was not healing so he leaned over, picked her foot up and brought it over his shoulder; this was an extremely erotic position even with her unconscious and he remembered the way her legs were wrapped around him just some hours ago. He would have her again. He would not deny himself the pleasure of having her.

For now his lips sucked the blood from her thigh moaning at the sensation. It was stale and not fresh and not as much as it would be if her heart was still pumping blood. He controlled himself and made sure to bite her only with his blunt teeth because he did not want to poison her in that state. Soon enough no more blood was left in her veins and therefore she would not heal or wake up soon.

He sighed. Logically her blood should not be that enticing but it was.

He let go of her leg and licked his lips clean. He looked at the vial in his hand and put it in his pocket.

He picked up Caroline, enjoying the way her cold naked body was nestling against his. Her head rolled to his shoulder and he carried her to her room. The barriers were still up and for now it would be best if she would remain locked inside her room and unable to cause him any problems. He would rather keep her in his room but given her defiant nature that would have to wait.

He put her on her bed and without even bothering with covering her he left and locked the door behind him.

For now what was important was to get answers. He had to find Adelaide.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** _ This was the last reposted chapter. I will be posting new chapters from now and on. So once I start posting the new updates I will remove the "reposted" notification from the summary. Thank you for reading.


	6. Seeking Answers

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **A/N: This is a new update. Therefore I removed the 'reposted' notice from the summary.  
**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

The helicopter rotors stopped turning and soon enough the loud buzz of the engine dissipated. Klaus opened the metal door and hopped out of the chopper with elegance. His coat unable to resist the wind was blowing sideways around his body.

He looked at the dark sky. The helicopter had landed on the rooftop of Adelaide's mansion. In the horizon Moscow's lights glimmered in the night. Behind him one of his trusted witches followed him.

In other circumstances he wouldn't need Adelaide. He would use the witches he already had in his current disposal to do his bidding. However Adelaide at the age of three hundred and seventy four years old was his best chance to find the answers he was looking for. Simply because she was one of the most powerful witches that existed in the world and one that never obeyed the commands of the spirits. Adelaide knew only of power. She served only power, she wanted only power. This is why she had been an ally in the past. Because she knew that the Original family and especially he could give her the power she so craved.

She was the best of the best and right now he had to get some answers. And only someone as powerful as Adelaide could solve the enigma Caroline Forbes was.

As he entered the foyer a trusted warlock of Adelaide's came to welcome him.

"She is expecting you," the man said with his heavy Russian accent.

Klaus nodded and followed him while his own witch stayed by his side. When he entered the extravagant living room Adelaide's form was standing in front of a painting slowly drinking red wine. She had her back turned to him. Her black hair pinned to a messy chignon. The column of her neck reminding him of a swan. Her back was bare. She was wearing a black form fitting dress made of silk.

He smirked when he noticed that she was admiring one of the paintings he had given her as a token of gratitude for her services almost a century ago.

"You reek of magic. More than the usual and it is not your broken curse. It's relatively recent dark magic," she said without turning to see him.

"I had an encounter with a coven in New Orleans," Klaus said as he went towards the bar furniture and fixed himself a tumbler of scotch.

"They are the wicked sort," she sang gleefully without turning to look at him.

"More of the unfortunate I would say," he pointed out with a smirk and twirled the alcohol inside his glass slowly enjoying how the scents of the strong drink bloomed in the air.

"If you are here I am guessing they've caused you an affliction?" she pondered casually but Klaus smiled.

"I am not here for my blessings sweetheart," he disclosed with an undertone of confidence and satisfaction in the timbre of his voice which seemed to finally gain the witch's attention.

"Blessings?" she wondered and turned around to face him, "Mmm yes… something is definitely different with you," she surmised as her eyes roved over his body scanning him from head to toe.

Even without his emotions Klaus' body reacted to the piercing gaze of the witch. He felt goosebumps rising over his skin like warning bells of danger. However he maintained his calm posture and smirked at her.

Adelaide raised an elegant eyebrow and slowly walked towards him after leaving her drink on the rosewood mantel of the fireplace beneath the painting. His smirk grew wider at the flirtatious air that surrounded her as she swayed her hips seductively. No matter her age that woman was the personification of sin.

She circled around him making him feel like prey and her penetrating gaze turned into cold calculation. He was facing both the woman and the enemy. The witch and the opponent. His blood turned from fire to ice and then again to fire and he would have liked nothing more than to eliminate the distance between them and strip her from her black dress and make her moan on the floor or against the wall.

And yet no matter how much his desire fomented he realized that while his body was willing his mind was getting flashes of blonde hair and blue eyes that tormented him with another kind of longing that was sweeping over everything and anything else. The thought of Caroline seemed to be etched in his mind rendering him powerless and unable to let himself enjoy any other pleasure. It was grating and it made him clench his jaw.

Adelaide let her hand caress his arm from the top of his shoulder down to the elbow. A sexy alluring invitation as she finally stood in front of him. Just a few inches away.

"Charming as usual, better taste in clothes I'd say, at least better than 50 years ago," she playfully noted making Klaus place his hand over his chest in a mocking gesture pretending to be offended.

But Adelaide didn't share his humor. Instead she let her index finger pressure his chin up a bit. She seemed serious as Klaus stood still and watched intently into her eyes.

And it finally dawned to her.

"However you are vacant of life," she declared with interest and Klaus let a nefarious grin adorn his features. He took her hand in his and brought her finger from his chin to his lips. He gently kissed the nailed tip without taking his eyes away from hers.

"Haven't you heard love? I've been dead for more than a thousand years," he jested with a husky tone that would make any other woman fall in his feet with blooming arousal. Instead Adelaide huffed amused and she withdrew her hand from his.

"A human beating heart is not life, emotion is life and you are void from it," she commented and went back to the fireplace to get her drink. The flames flickered as she approached. Another sign of her natural power.

Klaus looked at her and shrugged.

"Indeed," he admitted in a bored tone as he noticed that her choice was as always a 1947 Cheval Blanc.

"Was it a New Orleans curse then?" she asked intrigued as she sipped her wine slowly. The liquid staining her red lips in a more crimson shade before she ran her tongue on them.

Klaus finished his own drink and went to get a refill.

"A gift I would say," he gloated and noticed the dazzling smile in the witch's face. He was amusing her. His past self would either join the amusement or feel anger rushing through his veins at the witch's impertinent attitude but his new improved self simply didn't care. He didn't care for this kind of games. The only person who seemed to still be able to make him participate in such kind of games was safely locked away right now in the Altai Mountains.

"So you are not here to reverse it," Adelaide asked him and titled her head in question.

"Most definitely not," he confessed. His eyes glinted with satisfaction as the witch now seemed perplexed.

"Why are you here then Niklaus?" she asked him solemnly.

Klaus straightened his spine and looked inside his glass. The golden hue of the alcohol reflecting his face.

"I need answers," he finally conceded with a grave tone as his mind kept returning back to Caroline. Over and over again.

He still had this _feeling_ when it came to Caroline like a reflection of a burning emotion that would not go away. But now that his emotions were gone she seemed to be more in his mind. His brain could not shut her out. She was becoming an obsession. Infernal, lascivious and so very vexatious that was giving a new meaning to the word madness. So much that it felt like the birth of an emotional tirade.

 _ **A few hours before**_

 _He had dressed formally and gave commands to the stuff and his witches as he made arrangements to get to Adelaide. When he spoke with the witch she told him she was in Moscow which was quite convenient. Luck was by his side it seemed._

 _He had also made some phone calls and soon Maddox would arrive to assist him with Caroline also. If he was already here he would be more at ease but now he could not leave without taking care of the loose end that Caroline Forbes was proving to be._

 _Since he had to leave for some hours he had to make sure that Caroline would not be causing any trouble. He knew that she was caged in her room but he didn't want to take any chances with him gone for hours from the estate. Her broken neck would soon heal and he had to make sure that his little dove would not find a way to fly away. Logic told him that it was not possible but the past had also taught him that Caroline Forbes was extremely tenacious and incredibly ingenious and since he would not be here to keep an eye on her everything could happen. He did not trust anyone with her except himself for Caroline was capable for the impossible. He still remembered that so very clearly. A woman that was capable to make him fall for her and was capable of proving anyone that considered her weak wrong. A trait that had made his former sentimental self feel pride and intrigue for the girl. His girl._

 _For the girl that was able to adapt and most of all survive in a world where everyone treated her as the trivial collateral damage; He was not a fool as to believe that she was easy to be contained and more so tamed. Caroline was formidable so he had to always be prepared with her and treat her as such._

 _He unlocked the door and entered her room only to see that she hadn't woken up yet. A lifeless porcelain doll left to his mercy. Her naked body was resting on the mattress. The ivory of her skin was more pronounced over the red sheets and he licked his lips as his desire for her flared once more._

 _As if she had sensed his presence her eyelids fluttered as her senses were slowly awakened. He sped next to her and the mattress sank at the added weight. He sat next to her making himself comfortable while he pulled her upper body to his lap and waited for her to come back to life and to him._

 _He reached for her skin. His fingers trailing the column of her neck. Much to his pleasure she arched her back and hummed contently before she realized where she was and who's hands were caressing her skin. She immediately jumped and tried to push him away but all she managed was him to wrap his one hand around her hair and his other around her waist and bring her closer. Trapped inside his arms._

" _Easy sweetheart, there is no way out," he drawled feeling her scent travelling all around him setting his senses on fire._

" _Let me go," she whimpered as she weakly tried to shove him away. However her strength could not compete with his._

" _I will once you stop fighting me," he cooed and looked straight at her eyes. She looked at him fearfully for some moments before she nodded slowly with caution._

 _Klaus waited until her struggle had subsided and he eased her back to the pillows letting her go without moving away. He looked at her face and his eyes watched her naked heaving chest with appreciation. She immediately pulled the sheet and wrapped herself in it and before he could control himself he wrapped his hand around her waist again and pressed her over his chest. She let a sound of dismay and tried to push him away but he glared at her and once she noticed that his eyes changed color and turned vampiric she stilled inside his embrace with a sigh of defeat._

 _He slowly started stroking the smooth skin of her exposed back and she gripped the sheet in front of her chest tighter. He frowned. He shouldn't care but somehow he wanted her to feel comfortable around him. It was like a ghost of an emotion and it made no sense. He almost growled at that._

 _Caroline noticed the open door behind Klaus. Maybe since the door was now open the barrier was down she thought. If only she could ran and get away from Klaus. However she knew she didn't have a chance against him. She looked up at the veins that danced around his eyes and realized that hers had emerged on her face too. Returning to consciousness after having your neck broken was not an easy task and ignited the bloodlust. She felt famished and that burning feeling in her throat reminded her the divine taste of the blood she had consumed just hours ago._

 _God she had ripped that girl apart! How could she have done that?_

 _She felt tears gathering in her eyes and this time she gently pushed Klaus away and was surprised by the fact that he let her._

" _Why?" she whispered and bit the inside of her mouth harshly._

 _Klaus looked at her intently and she titled her head up._

" _I was right wasn't I? You've turned it off," she asked him and gulped at the vacant gaze of his._

 _The silence between them was prolonged before Klaus chuckled. It was an unsettling sound that had Caroline's hand reach over her neck. He had snapped her neck. He had compelled her. He wasn't the Klaus she remembered. She was facing the monster of the legends now and she had no power against or over him._

" _Give the girl a price!" Klaus taunted and reached for a strand of her hair. He playfully wrapped a golden curl around his finger and looked at Caroline with mirth, "I have to admit love I would have thought that you have guessed it so much sooner. But alas this time you didn't prove to be that smart. Are you losing your touch or have I given you wrong credit?" he asked, his voice laced with sarcasm._

 _However Caroline didn't pay attention to his jabs. No matter how much they irritated her._

" _Why did you turn it off?" she asked him and she saw him shrug._

" _There were some witches involved. A fortunate spell and the rest is history," he said and Caroline's eyes lit up with hope._

" _So…_ _ **you**_ _didn't turn it off. That must mean you can turn it back on," she realized but Klaus simply laughed._

" _Why would I do that love? I am quite enjoying the outcome," he confessed, eyeing her up and down and Caroline gulped at his wolfish gaze._

" _The Klaus I knew wouldn't be that weak!" Caroline accused him and Klaus laughed at that._

" _The Klaus you knew. You mean the pathetic version of me that was ready to lay the world at your feet Caroline?" he asked but when Caroline opened her mouth to say something he placed a finger on her lips silencing her, "the one you kept rejecting?" he challenged her with a raised eyebrow enjoying the inner battle and the regret that reflected in her eyes._

" _That man is not coming back Caroline. And the one you have right now does not care about you sweetheart. You are here because I am bored so my suggestion is to keep entertaining me because you life is of no value to me anymore," he warned her but was faced with her defiance._

" _There is a part of you that still cares!" she insisted and perched on her knees ready to face him._

 _Klaus rolled his eyes indicating how stupid he was finding her assumptions. And yet here she was. Ready to fight him in all her naivety, looking all adorable even for the emotionless kind to see._

" _If there wasn't I wouldn't be here in the first place. You wouldn't care. You wouldn't even bother with me," she provoked him and Klaus squinted his eyes at her._

" _It is never too late to rectify the results of my impaired judgement. Permanently," he threatened but Caroline moved closer to him. Her face inches away from his._

" _Then kill me! Go on! Kill me!" she yelled at him but Klaus didn't move._

" _You can't can you?" Caroline boasted and before she knew it Klaus had trapped her underneath his body. He had pinned her on the bed, his hand wrapped around her throat ready to go for the kill._

 _He frowned when he realized that he wasn't able to kill her no matter how much he wanted to do so. It felt wrong. It just….felt wrong. The fact that it actually felt something made him even more intrigued. How could he be feeling anything when he still didn't have his emotions?_

 _His eyes dilated and Caroline was trapped by his compulsion once more._

" _Go to sleep Caroline. You won't wake up until I command you to," he compelled her and Caroline's eyes slowly closed. She let a pained sigh escape her lips as her breaths became even and her head rolled to the side. She was fast asleep._

 _Klaus inhaled her scent for a moment before he got up leaving her unconscious on the bed. He had a witch to find._

* * *

Adelaide's intense scrutiny settled thoughtfully on Klaus's face before she elegantly went to lie down on the chaise lounge sofa. The slit of the dress revealed the smooth skin of her legs as she crossed them over the velvet. The black silk was now draped provocatively around her exposed thighs as she rested her back on the back of the sofa.

"Emotionless or not you know the rules. I offer my services only for the right price," she reminded him as she tapped her nails on the crystal of her glass.

A sly smiled formed on Klaus' lips as he raised his hand expectedly on the air and snapped his fingers.

The witch he had taken along that so far stood silently at the entrance of the living room with Adelaide's warlock approached Klaus and took his glass from his hands. The warlock that came after Klaus' witch looked threatening as if he was ready to attack at any time in order to protect his mistress. Klaus knew however that those theatrics were just that. Theatrics. A show for the weak minded. So they would be intimidated or impressed. Adelaide did not need anyone to protect her. She could protect herself effortlessly. She was the true power in the room when it came to magic.

"This is why I didn't come empty handed love," Klaus said and reached for his witch's neck and gently unclasped the necklace she was wearing.

Adelaide eyes shone with true interest know as she gazed at the amulet. She didn't need anyone to tell her how rare Klaus' gift was. It was casting waves of pure undiluted magic. The kind of magic that you could rarely find and the kind of magic only the witches of New Orleans knew how to harness into physical objects.

Klaus went and sat next to her on the sofa playfully dangling the necklace with the enchanted ruby crystal in front of Adelaide's face.

Adelaide placed her glass on the antique table next to her as her body leaned towards the crystal. Her eyes never leaving the price in Klaus hands. She let her fingers follow the pattern of the ruby without touching it and Klaus could now feel the energy that emanated from the jewel more. The black pearls of the riviere almost vibrated in his hands.

He looked at the greed in Adelaide's eyes with mirth knowing that she would not refuse him now.

"The coven in New Orleans tried to lure me to my end. Instead I eradicated them. Mothers, fathers, children," he listed with boredom as he kept twirling the necklace in his fingers casually.

"No need for the dead to own mortal fortune," Adelaide sassed; her voice now soft and tempting and Klaus laughed and placed the necklace in her hands. She beamed at him and looked at the valuable charm with awe and admiration.

She kept examining the gift Klaus has given her as she made a dismissal gesture towards her warlock. The brooding man turned around and silently exited the room. Klaus nodded to his own witch that she left his drink on one of the table silently and she followed the warlock leaving him and Adelaide alone.

"Indeed they don't," Klaus agreed and his hand caressed Adelaide's leg sensually, "some very interesting grimoires also became part of my collection after their so unfortunate demise," he informed the witch that now smiled at him wickedly. He could tell by the undisputed enthusiasm in her eyes that she would definitely want to read those spells.

Adelaide gave him the necklace and turned her head with grace to the side as she removed the diamonds she wore. Klaus smiled and secured the necklace on her neck. He leaned down and let his fingertips play with the crystal that now was resting just above the beautiful curve of her exposed breasts.

"So what is it that you want from me?" Adelaide inquired a bit breathless and Klaus let his hand fall from her chest.

He got up and went to retrieve his drink. This time he drank it in one go letting the burn of the scotch sooth his nerves.

"As I have already said. Answers," he said seriously and felt the witch's eyes boring wholes on his back.

"Regarding which question," she asked and Klaus subdued the sound of distress that almost left his lips.

He stared at the flames in the fireplace.

"There is a young vampire. I've met her a few years ago when I had my emotions," he said and felt Caroline's face haunting him even now. It was so puzzling and unsettling. He then felt Adelaide's hand on his shoulder and it felt so wrong. So wrong to feel another woman's touch on his body when Caroline's memory was all he could see and feel in the flames and in his mind. In his very soul. A soul vacant of emotions and still so much devoted to a baby vampire that should mean nothing. He gripped the glass so hard that it cracked.

"She made an impression on you from what I gather?" Adelaide probed and he pushed her hand away.

"Quite an impression. She seems to be… _special_ ," he admitted unwillingly. And he realized that she was. Caroline _was_ special in ways he could not begin to describe or even explain.

"Special how?" the witch asked sounding genuinely curious.

"I can't seem to shake her off," Klaus professed and grimaced at the weakness he could hear in his own voice.

"She's gotten under your skin I see," Adelaide noticed with apprehension.

"She has and that's the problem. She shouldn't. Not now at least," he said and felt that peculiar twinge in his heart again. It was not emotion. He could not explain it. It was a possessive sensation that ran as an instinct inside him now.

"Are you sure you just don't want her body? Sexual attraction can be fatal. Even for the emotionless kind," she taunted and Klaus let out an irritated dismissive sigh.

"I've already had her," he said with a dark edge in his voice and felt his blood pulsating aggressively in his veins as he remembered how good it felt to give in to his natural impulses and be inside Caroline fucking her without abandon.

But then it was not just that was it? It was not just the sex no matter how good it felt.

"It is not just sex. She seems to be evoking… my emotions," he revealed and his palms turned to fists.

Adelaide stared at him for a few moments before she went and sat back to the chaise and crossed her legs.

"Maybe what you felt for her before was too powerful then?" she questioned; the cadence of her voice was manipulated to be a soft soothing sound as if she knew that she was treading on dangerous waters, "Something indeed so strong capable to battle the coven's spell from the inside out?" she wondered intrigued and then continued ruthlessly, " _Love"_ she spelled out the word almost with distaste, " is the most powerful emotion they say… well I wouldn't know," she ironically noticed with a mocking gesture, "but still."

Klaus didn't pay any attention to the glint in the witch's eyes as he refused to even acknowledge that possibility.

Old words lost in the ages surfaced in his mind again.

' _Love is a vampire's greatest weakness….and we are not weak…we do not feel and we do not care.'_

He felt as if he was on the verge of an emotional turmoil. Things were so much simpler back then. But even with his emotions it still could not be. Not love. Never love. Infatuation probably. Falling for Caroline's spirit maybe. But not love. Not then and most certainly not now.

"That's the thing. It is not about _love_ ," he argued letting the word roll on his tongue with aversion, "What I felt for her is buried. I remember of how it used to feel but now it is different. It runs deeper and it is messing with my wolf," he told the witch and tensed when he saw how she narrowed her eyes.

" _How_ exactly?" she carefully asked, her tone laced with true intrigue.

Klaus drew a sharp breath and let it out harshly.

"I can't hurt her; I can barely force myself to compel her. And even when I do my compulsion knows limitations. I can't seem to be able to compel her in the way I would others. My emotions are gone but when she is near a different nature of … _feelings_ arises. Not of the heart. I can't explain it," he said with urgency.

He could not exactly describe this as the words suddenly seemed meaningless in comparison to what he was trying to explain, "It is too primal. I've never experienced anything like this before," he muttered confused and frustrated.

"When did this start?" she questioned and Klaus took a sharp intake of breath.

"In Mystic Falls. I didn't pay attention at first. She was more or less a harmless infatuation. A diversion of sorts. Young, naïve, beautiful enough to capture the gaze of any man," he recalled as his past memories created a haze in his mind. Every memory of Caroline assaulting him at once. Her smile most of all.

"And that _infatuation_ changed?" Adelaide pondered as her fingers traced the ruby of the pendant.

Something flashed in her eyes that Klaus could not translate and a part of him wondered if he would be able to understand her emotive reactions better if he had his emotions.

He felt the muscles around his neck flexing as he clenched his jaw. He did not care about anything and yet this confession over everything he had once felt for Caroline felt too intrusive. As if he was stealing something extremely important from his past self. Something he should never touch without respect and most of all never reveal to anyone else. He was stealing part of his past self's heart and yet he could barely remember what.

He tried to remind himself that it was not important and that he did not miss that. Most of all he had to remind himself that it did not matter.

And yet if this part of his past didn't matter why was he now here asking for answers like a desperate man when desperation was deep down an… _emotion?_

"It became meaningful," Klaus admitted painfully, his voice deceptively calm, "which didn't make sense to me even when I had my emotions in check but even more now; Car-" he abruptly stopped before he mentioned Caroline's name; he kept trying to forget that if he had his emotions this unholy confession would only cause him regret. It would feel like sacrilege to taint what he felt for Caroline in the eyes of a stranger. And especially a stranger like Adelaide. In a cheap bargain in the dark; for answers in a search for getting rid of those pesky feelings that run so deep that still lingered without his humanity, " _she_ is always in my mind. After I turned my emotions off I grew restless. I didn't know what was happening but eventually only the mere thought of her forced me to return to Mystic Falls. The pull was gravitational. I first believed that I craved her body but now that I've had her I realized that it is more than that. Which is why I need answers. I am an Original but still a vampire. A connection with another against my will or nature defies logic," he heatedly let it all out with a voice spiced with derision and something akin to outrage.

Adelaide hummed with understanding. Her eyes roaming his face, taking in every single one of his expressions and even untold thoughts.

"You are forgetting that your nature is not one of a vampire. You belong to a mixed species. One of a kind. Which means that maybe turning your emotions off doesn't work in the same way it does for a normal vampire," she commented and then titled her head to the side as she furrowed her brow.

"You said that your wolf craves her?" she noticed and let her teeth trace her bottom lip.

"More than anything else," Klaus honestly said almost exasperated.

"Interesting…. _very_ interesting" Adelaide cooed and got up from the sofa and went and stood in front of Klaus. She took his palm in hers and looked at the inside of his hand. Her thumb tracing the lines of his palm.

"Do you know what this means?" he pressed as Adelaide let go of his hand with a soft humming sound.

"Not yet. I am assuming that you haven't brought the girl with you?" she asked with a cold voice that professed that she would like nothing more than to examine the unique specimen Klaus's object of obsession obviously had to be.

Klaus made a noncommittal noise that sounded like a wolfish growl. His instinctive reaction was to keep Adelaide away from Caroline at all cost. He refused to tell her that even like this a part of him didn't trust Caroline to her hands. A part of him wanted to protect Caroline from any kind of danger and all that without his emotions.

He reached to the inside pocket of his coat and took out the vial of Caroline's blood. The one he had collected when he had snapped her neck.

"Is her blood enough?" he asked the witch as he gave her the vial.

Adelaide looked at the liquid in her hands with interest.

"It will have to suffice, for now," she surmised.

"I need you to tell me what is going on. Now!"

"It might take some time, make yourself at home," she dismissed him and he growled.

"Is this frustration I am hearing? Because the last time I checked along with impatience it can make quite the emotion," she mocked him and Klaus's eyes almost flashed gold.

She laughed at that and he pressed his lips.

"Just be done with it," he mumbled. His impatience was obvious as was the sharp and dark glimmer in his eyes.

Adelaide turned around and walked towards the stairs that led to her personal library before stopping short on her heels.

"Klaus?"

"What?" he grunted annoyed trying to restrain himself from lashing out.

"What is your beloved's name?" she asked him with a falsely innocent saccharine smile.

He looked at her with menace before his features softened without even him noticing it as he reluctantly let the name that tormented him endlessly fall from his lips.

" _Caroline."_


	7. Withering Bloom

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

Night had fallen and the relentless ticking of the old clock was a constant reminder of the witch's delay.

Klaus stood in complete apathy as one more of Adelaide's female servants came into the room. With certain steps the blonde bombshell approached him and slit her wrist with an old ritualistic blade. She did not even flinch as she proceeded draining her blood for him. She then kindly offered him the full glass which he silently took and drained it without sparing another glance at the human that left the room.

Hours had passed by and he had not heard anything from Adelaide yet. He was growing restless. He licked his lips from the blood that still stained them and started pacing inside the lavish living room.

He looked at the watch on his wrist. Half a day had passed. He had to be patient but even without his emotions patience was not his strong suit and especially in matters concerning Caroline Forbes.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. This was getting beyond ridiculous. He was probably overreacting. Caroline was a delectable fuck and nothing more. A few more sex romps with her and she would be out of his system. And yet the idea of getting rid of her afterwards seemed so foreign and unthinkable that made him doubt of everything he knew about himself. He sighed as he realized that his whole body still ached for her. He wanted to be near her. To smell her scent. To taste her lips. To spread her legs and bury himself deep inside her and feel like a God again. No matter how much he tried he could not get Caroline out of his mind. It was as if his body needed her. He felt incomplete without her body pressed against his.

With a sigh he went and poured himself a scotch. He slammed back his drink and then looked at the painting above the fireplace. He remembered when he had painted this one. It was just after he bedded Adelaide in the 1800s. He had given her the painting as a memoire and she had only kept it because he was an Original and most of all she wanted a token of appreciation from one of the most powerful creatures of the world. For such a supposedly complex character Adelaide's actions mostly translated to power and displays of power.

Their tryst seemed so distant to him and he smirked as he recalled how emotionless it had been even though he had his humanity back then. And he frowned as he realized that his recent sexual experience with Caroline conveyed more emotion even though he had not any emotions left.

He also realized that ever since his emotions were gone his need to paint had completely diminished. Creating art did not interest him anymore. He could still recall how he was using to express his pain and every ache of his soul on canvas but that need no longer lingered.

He looked at the painting with indifference. A clock with broken Latin numbers lost in enchantments in the midst of the pages of a grimoire. Dark colors and only a trained eyed could see Adelaide's eyes hidden as a faint reflection behind the clock's hands.

He narrowed his eyes as he remembered how cold Adelaide's eyes used to be and how he had managed to paint that coldness inside the painting. And yet Adelaide had taken it as a compliment even though it was not meant as one.

He still remembered how he had smiled at her thinking of how easy was for women to look but not see.

But then the shape of the clock in the painting changed and turned into a _…snowflake…_

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he remembered the blonde hair and the white dress.

 ** _A year ago in Mystic Falls_**

 _He felt drawn to her as if gravity had wrapped around him its chains and pulled him closer and yet with each step he took closer to the object of his desire she moved away and they were left walking in a circle facing each other. He felt his whole body straining at the conscious effort he made to not go any more near her and enter her personal space. As always he felt a spark of electricity ignite inside his veins in a primal level whenever she was anywhere close to his orbit._

" _Nice snowflake, by the way," she told him as she pointed with raised eyebrows straight at the painting he donated to the winter wonderland charity event._

" _Is my work really that literal?" he teased in mock offense and deep inside he felt a wave of bliss. Having Caroline being so normal and carefree around him made his heart soar. He could not stop from smiling at that._

 _Which seemed to also happen to him a lot when Caroline was around. He seemed to be smiling more._

" _I'm serious. There's something...lonely about it," she said and Klaus narrowed his eyes for a moment trying to decipher if she was being honest with him and was surprised to see in her eyes that she was._

 _And once that realization came it left him staring into the abyss of mystery Caroline Forbes was. A perfect enigma that drew him closer like a moth to flame. Despite her age and inexperience even in the most fleeting moments Caroline could see what others could not and that took the smile away from his lips._

" _I'm gonna take that as a compliment."_

* * *

"Mr. Mikaelson. Miss Richelieu will see you now."

Klaus lowered his eyes from the painting and turned his head to the side only to see that it was Adelaide's warlock that had taken him out of his reverie.

Without saying a word he glanced at the painting once more realizing that the image of the snowflake had dissolved and he then turned around to follow the man that had already started walking away from the living room.

Klaus followed the warlock without paying any attention to the lavishness that surrounded him as they started walking up the marble stairs that led to Adelaide's private studio.

When they reached the carved wooden double doors the warlock bowed slightly and left without saying another word.

Klaus opened the one door and entered the witch's den. Immediately the scent of sulfur assaulted his nostrils. Endless candles were lit but their smoke seemed to create an unnatural mist inside the spacious room. Klaus noticed that the windows were closed but the flames of the candles were trembling while the amulets and the dreamcatchers were also swaying lightly.

Adelaide was waiting for him behind a massive table made of old bones and stones. He hadn't seen that one for centuries. It was of Norse heritage and Elijah had given it to her as a token of appreciation for her services concerning some of his Wiccan studies.

However it was not the pentagram that was drawn over the table with blood that caught his attention. Neither the five black candles illuminated with blue flames. What he found fascinating was the plant that was in the middle of those candles and on top of the center of the pentagram.

In perfect bloom emanating the sweetest scent that seemed to be calling him closer. He slowly walked towards the table without being able to take his gaze away from the unique flower. He stopped before reaching the table. He could swear that he heard unearthly whispers surrounding him but it was as if the plant in front of him had its own melody that silenced every other noise.

He raised his gaze to Adelaide that was watching him intently. Her eyes shining in the dark like black onyx that was melting its shine inside her orbs.

Every other creature would bow down to the power the witch was radiating but Klaus simply narrowed his eyes and diverted his attention back to the flower.

"Come forth Niklaus," Adelaide sweetly chanted her invitation and she held out her hand presenting him the flower. Klaus furrowed his brow and titled his head up a bit in confusion and suspicion. It was not until Adelaide decided to caress the bright yellow petals of the flower that his legs moved on their own accord.

He approached the table and without understanding why he grabbed the witch's hand in mid air and pushed it away from the flower. He almost growled at the way the witch laughed but somehow his hand wanted to simply touch the petals.

Beautiful fragile petals in a blend of colors. Yellow, gold and light blue. The stem seemed to be made by the most exotic and yet resilient leaves that sprouted like the wings of a butterfly. He had never seen anything similar before.

Centuries walking the earth and a flower seemed to be otherworldly to him. He blinked as he noticed how the whole plant seemed to be vibrating in the tempo of a heartbeat that was in perfect sync with his own. Only not exactly his own. It reminded him another heartbeat. A sound he knew all too well by now. A heartbeat that evoked memories of blood and laughter. Lost sounds of hummingbirds and of the forgotten taste of champagne. So much life and so much…light. The black candles around the flower seemed to be casting a glow upon the plant that illuminated even its depths creating the light he so much craved to embrace.

He could not resist any longer. He touched the petals and relished in their smooth and delicate texture. Their aroma was so familiar. Under Adelaide's scrutiny he let his fingertips graze with tenderness the velvety surface of one of the petals allowing its sweet scent to rise and envelop his fingers and enter his nostrils like a drug.

But then the petal fell. His touch no matter how gentle it seemed to be causing the petal to wither and break from the flower's bloom and that caused Klaus to withdraw his hand as if his flesh got burned. Once the petal reached the blood sigil on the table it turned to ash and Klaus felt his heart painfully constrict.

"What sorcery is this?" he muttered and Adelaide's laughter brought chills to his spine. Even without his emotions this particular moment was extremely unsettling to him.

"Hardly sorcery my darling. I would call it the art of gardening," she jested and Klaus pursed his lips annoyed. He had realized that without his emotions he was far less inclined to play games. Not when all he wanted was immediate results.

Adelaide straightened her back then and shrugged.

"This is obviously a plant. Simple as that and as fragile as that. Now destroy it."

The witch stood and waited as Klaus stared at the flower. He stood unmoving. His gaze intently locked on the plant. He tried to will his fingers to move forward. To crash the petals and rip them off.

But he could not.

"What is wrong?" the innocent tint of the witch's tone made his blood boil inside his veins.

Klaus raised his eyes and looked at Adelaide with a menace that could make worlds crumble and fall at their feet.

"What is this?" he snarled. His sneer reflecting an untold accusation.

"What is what darling?"

Klaus whole demeanor changed. Something that Adelaide immediately understood as her body turned rigid.

"No more games," Klaus whispered softly and saw how the witch faltered. Creating such fear in a powerful creature like Adelaide Richelieu would have been an aphrodisiac for him but right now the magic that surrounded him had him on edge and with his emotions gone his most primal instincts were ready to take over.

A danger no wise person would want to invite in.

Adelaide nodded and rested her palms on the table just next to the candles.

She pointed with her eyes at the flower.

"It has your Caroline's blood," she informed him and Klaus slightly titled his head as his attention went back to the blossom of beauty in the center of the magic circle, " I have infused some of her blood into the seed and spelled it to bloom," the witch continued and Klaus raised his eyebrow in intrigue.

"It contains Caroline's aura in it," Adelaide revealed and bent over to blow at the candle flames. Smoke rose from them as their blue tint dissipated and Klaus took a step back as the flower suddenly withered.

He gritted his teeth unable to stand the sight of the dying flower. It fell on the circle. Half of it turning to ash.

Adelaide walked pass the table and with a snap of her fingers the candle chandelier above them started casting bright glow illuminating the whole room as every candle on it ignited with fire.

"For some reason your wolf side is attached to her," she said as she went to another table made from wood and crystal and rested her palms on it. She lifted her chin and looked directly into his eyes without any hint of discomfort as she continued, "In a primary level. It can instinctually sense her. Her scent, her presence, her…blood," she observed and noticed how something akin to realization dawning into Klaus' eyes as he took a sharp intake of breath.

Klaus also approached the table as Adelaide took the vial he had given her before. It still had some of Caroline's blood left.

She uncorked the small bottle and let the remaining blood drip to the crystal surface.

"Your blood is also needed Niklaus," Adelaide ordered him and for a moment Klaus looked at her with suspicion before he let his fangs drop. He bit the inside of his palm and let him blood fall on the table just next to Caroline's blood.

Adelaide Richelieu raised her hands just above the small pools of blood and chanted under her breath. Klaus narrowed his eyes as he noticed how his blood started moving on the table. It seemed as if his blood was attracted to Caroline's. The thick liquid turned into a red line under Adelaide's chanting and it started slowly circling Caroline's blood. It continued dancing its circle until it united with the unmoving blood on the table. He saw how his blood took over and how it merged with Caroline's in one small crimson lake. It took over Caroline's blood completely and only then it settled.

"What does that mean?" Klaus muttered unable to accept what was happening right in front of his eyes.

"Haven't you guessed already?" Adelaide queried with a hint of exasperated amusement.

Adelaide started walking seductively around the table until she reached him and then she leaned to the edge of the tabletop. Klaus stood unmoving, his eyes gleaming at the sight of the blood on the table.

"Come on Niklaus. You surely have your suspicions," she sung as he swirled around to face her. She looked at him as if she was watching someone very young and foolish.

"It can't be," he protested and this time he had no hint of emotion on his chiseled features. He was not angry or impatient as before. He seemed to be stunned. Surely surprise could be described as an emotion by many but right now Klaus' mind was the one that was objecting to the obvious. His thousand years of experience could not compete with this new revelation. One he never expected to witness or experience.

"Oh but it can," the witch argued and went to the library. She took a worn out leather covered book from one of the bookshelves and opened it.

She turned the pages reading the texts that were written in Latin and Aramaic and stopped until she found the passage she was looking for. Written in classic Latin.

She gave the book to Klaus and he hastily started reading the text she tapped twice with her red fingernail. The drawing of the werewolves under the phase of the moons was something that Klaus would or should have once admired since it was crafted with exquisite strokes and painted with blood but his gaze was fixated on what he was reading.

He shut the book close in an abrupt move and Adelaide scolded him with her gaze as the book was really old and delicate. She took it from his hands and placed it back to the shelf.

"Most people believe that mates are predestined," she started telling him what he already knew, "It is not true. You read it but I am sure you already knew it. Surely you have already searched your origins before coming to me. Finding your mate is choosing your mate," Adelaide kept going as Klaus raked his hand through his hair.

Klaus rested his hands against the crystal table and soon the glass cracked. Adelaide smiled deviously at what the display of frustration from the Original. What lurked just underneath the surface was emotion. Raw and harsh and ready to burst. All he needed was just a nudge to the right direction.

The strongest of the Originals running around in an emotionless state would be the world's damnation. She could not allow this to happen. Klaus was the most powerful creature on the planet and he in his current state would be able to cause havoc to the supernatural and natural order. It could be the demise of the world as they knew I and that she could not allow. She was still nature's servant but she also knew that Klaus sooner all later would eradicate any potential threat to his existence.

Cold rationality dictated actions unpredictable and she could not endanger her survival. Once Niklaus had placed his gift on her neck she had felt death. Her death. And she had to prevent that at all costs. She had to find a way to control him.

In his sane mind Klaus would never turn off his emotions exactly because of the responsibility he carried as an Original and as the master of his own race but right now his emotional disability and his primal instincts had taken over. And that was dangerous.

His Caroline was the key to tame him. And she would use it.

"Choosing you mate means finding the person that is compatible to you in all levels," Adelaide pressed ignoring how the crystal shuttered. But the dam that held his emotions back didn't seem to break.

"The person that has the right chemistry, the right attraction. That moves your body, your soul, your mind," she urged, her eyes glimmering "And then your nature reacts. If the attraction is so strong in all levels, emotionally, physically and mentally then your instincts are awaking," she pointed out.

"In your case the wolf inside you," she remarked and Klaus closed his eyes.

Adelaide furrowed her brow confused. This revelation seemed to be an emotional trigger for him and yet for some reason Klaus Mikaelson refused to turn his emotions back on. When she had taken his palm into her hand earlier she had read the spell the witches had cast on him. It was not a binding one or an irreversible one. Unfortunately it blocked any spell that would try to undo it but it could be broken by the soul it clouded.

She could not break the spell with her magic but all Klaus had to do was simply desire to turn back on his emotions and yet right now he was physically struggling not to.

Somehow against all reason this intrigued her. She could only wonder what was stopping him from turning his emotions back on when it was emotion right now that was threatening to burst through him and break the walls he had raised.

"Your wolf has marked her… _Caroline_ … as your mate," she carefully told him and saw how the muscles on his jaw flexed. "Probably from your early encounters if your infatuation was powerful enough and if your connection was challenging to all levels. You have lived for a thousand years. For a woman to move you in that way…She must be quite special your Caroline," the witch observed and took a step back as Klaus raised his body and turned to look at her with dark eyes.

Nonetheless she continued with a tender voice careful of not provoking him. He wanted answers. He would have them. And she would have to find a way to keep him under a leash.

"Once you found her and with your Hybrid curse broken it was only a matter of time. The wolf inside you has chosen her and once that happens there is no turning back," she somberly noted; her eyes steady on his as she flinched when she saw the orbs of his eyes transform to the most golden of hues she has ever seen in a werewolf.

Adelaide touched the necklace with precaution ready to draw power from it in order to defend herself against the Hybrid.

"It is not just your emotions Niklaus," she divulged in a mild tone but the urgency in her voice could not be veiled, "Not anymore. Now she defines your very own nature. She can even control it," she warned him and before she had a chance to even react she had found herself pinned against a wall. Klaus had sped over her an inhuman speed that not even the oldest of vampires could see coming.

Klaus towered over her, his eyes a molten lava of gold as he dug his fingers in her shoulders violently.

"How do I fix this?" he breathed out dangerously. His fangs elongated, his whole body turning to unmoving stone.

Adelaide stared at him seriously as dark color swept into her cheeks.

"Kill her," she simply advised as she refused to show him any fear.

Klaus blinked and despite the danger she wholeheartedly laughed. Klaus growled and she narrowed her eyes. She focused on him and suddenly Klaus body was propelled back and he was pushed by an unseen force to the other side of the room. Pain shuttered his ribs that broke into his lungs causing blood to flood in his mouth and run down his chin as he dropped to his one knee and stood up ready to pounce.

"The only problem is that your wolf will forever protect her. Quite the conundrum really. Can you go against your nature? Against everything you are?" she challenged him and raised her hand ready to use her magic against him.

"No more games witch!" Klaus yelled wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and Adelaide's lips curved to a taunting smirk.

"Who is playing?"

Klaus started taking a threatening step forward and the flames on the candles of the room rose higher. He smirked dangerously this time and tilted his head to the side half amused half impressed.

Adelaide lifted her chin up but lowered her hand.

"Oh is this _anger_?" she cooed with satisfaction, "Maybe it's your emotions that are playing with you Niklaus, not me."

Klaus snorted and retracted his fangs. Soon enough the yellow shade of his eyes was taken over by the natural blue color that adorned his human like gaze.

"I have no emotions anymore," Klaus insisted as if he was trying to convince himself. To hold on to something.

Adelaide hummed in irritation and she felt the need to scream at his stubbornness but masked her emotions.

"You have emotions," she insisted, "They are still there. They are inactive and dimmed but there still. But even without them your mind still works, your wolf still exists and even without your emotions every part of you, physical and intellectual, is still connected with the girl is it not?" she questioned and noticed how Klaus refused to even look at her now.

"You could always turn it back on. Give in to everything you feel for her," she softly proposed and Klaus came at her but this time with no malice.

He framed her face with his hands and looked directly into her eyes. She saw nothing but ice into his.

"No. Never," he vowed and saw how the witch stared at him in confusion and frustration.

She obviously wanted him to turn it back on. He could tell that she was telling him the truth about Caroline being his mate and he already knew everything about mates anyway. Everything became clear now and he realized that deep down he always knew but tried to deny that anchor on him.

However Adelaide's endgame tonight was to make him turn back his emotion. She was subtly manipulating him and pushing him into turning it back on. She was probably terrified of existing in a world where a man like him could enforce his reign with no emotions nor mercy. She was afraid as she should and she thought that her only salvation would be for him to turn back his switch.

But he could not. He would not turn it back on.

This was deeper now. Because he didn't understand the gravity of the situation before. Now that he knew what was happening he could tell beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would prefer the solitude of emptiness than the emotional hurricane that would follow.

If he ever turned it back on he would be in Caroline's mercy. He would be..weak.

He would never allow this to happen. Never. If anything this was one more reason, the most important of all, to make sure he would not turn his emotions back on. Not ever.

He let go of Adelaide's face and turned his back on her.

He looked at the crystal table he had broken. His and Caroline's blood was still tainting one of the broken pieces.

And then he understood why he would not turn it back on. Not after everything he had learned.

Not after everything he had done.

For there was a whisper, a haunting taunting voice in the back of his head that told him that after everything he had done to Caroline the world would be an unforgiving place for him. She would never forgive him. He would never forgive himself. He had kidnapped her, he had compelled her. He had forced her to kill and to give in to him. He had fucked her in the midst of her brainwashed haze. The pain and disgust that reflected in her eyes once she woke up was enough to tell him that he had crossed a line he should have never crossed. Probably even the point of no return.

Caroline was now terrified of him. Angry at him. She was in pain. And it was his fault.

Those actions didn't have an emotional impact on his _now_ but he knew that once he would turn it back on they would drive him insane and would bring him down on his knees.

With his emotions back he would try to gain her forgiveness and he would let her go and he was not sure if he would be able to survive in a world where Caroline Forbes would hate him for all eternity. In a world where he would be her worst nightmare and regret. He would not be able to live with that pain.

A solution would be to turn it back on and then compel Caroline to forget everything but he knew that once he would turn it back on he would never be able to compel her. Even if he compelled her to forget before he turned it back on in the end he would still have to live with the pain of knowing what he had done to her. And she still would not be his. And she had to be. One way or another she had to be. The most primal parts of himself were now awoken and demanded for her to remain by his side.

Maybe killing Caroline was the only way left for him but everything inside him roared. His wolf and every emotion buried threatened to take claim and tear him to pieces even at the idea of laying a finger on Caroline's hair.

"Never," he muttered in revulsion with a shudder. Emotions or no emotions he would never be able to kill his Caroline and he would never turn it back on.

"There is another solution."

The sad yet resolute voice made him turn around as if electricity hit him. The witch looked at him with dark eyes and he furrowed his brow. He almost wanted to beg for a solution but could he trust the witch?

"Keep her," she proposed and for some reason he felt his heart jump. There was something sinister in Adelaide's eyes and something threatening.

His first instinct was to protect Caroline from whatever the witch would tell him to do now but the idea that Adelaide could find for him a solution as to keep Caroline in a way that would not hurt or tear him asunder seemed far too tempting for him to not listen to what the witch would propose.

"You do not have your emotions but your wolf won't be sated without her," she stated and Klaus slowly nodded, "So keep her close and the part of you that wants her will be satisfied. You do not have to love her or care for her. You only need to store her and to ensure her survival. Bind her to your side and be in charge of how you want this to play out," she suggested and Klaus started thinking of all the potential.

Surely the witch was still trying to manipulate him. Probably thinking that Caroline could become a pawn and a way for him to be controlled. However he did not care for the witch's intentions right now.

He did not care about anything aside silencing the wolf inside him. Caroline was his only thought for the moment. He would deal with the witch later.

"Could this actually work?" he asked intrigued in a low barely audible tone and he went back to the old table that had the withered flower on the middle of a pentagram.

With a sad look he caressed one of the damaged petals. It turned to ash immediately.

Could he do this? Keep Caroline no matter the damage he would cause to her? How could his werewolf side want to protect her while he would not be able to resist destroying her in order to have her?

In that moment he realized that he would either have to sacrifice Caroline's future or the absence of the emotions he so craved. He would have to either turn his emotions back on and do the right thing by letting Caroline go or keep Caroline bound by his side as he would enjoy the freedom of not feeling and not caring while still indulging into the desire he had for his little blonde vampire.

"I do not see why not," Adelaide commented with a light voice.

"You still drink blood don't you? It is essential for your vampire to function. So think of your darling Caroline as the fix for your wolf needs. It doesn't have to be anything more than a survival need; an itch to scratch and be done with and nothing more… unless of course you wish it to be," she provoked him and Klaus let the last remains of the dying flower on the table turn to nothing but ash. He wiped his hands decisively.

He had lived long enough to know that everything was meant to wither and die. Everything except him. Letting Caroline go was not an option. Turning his emotions back was not an option. Having Caroline as his mate and not being able to be with her would drive him to insanity.

Succumbing to the weakness of the heart was a disease that would break him. And he was not weak. He did not feel and he did not care. Caroline would sate the wolf and he would be in control of his destiny. Not a pesky little baby vampire that happened to have a hold to a dead heart that was now unable to feel.

He had loved his family for a thousand years and they only caused him pain. He fell for Caroline and chose her to be his mate and she always rejected him. He would not spend the rest of his forever groveling after a woman. Not even if his nature demanded it. Fucking her and chaining her by his side would have to do. Even the darkest wildest parts of his wolf were excited by the idea of marking her and making her submit to him in a way that would allow him to dominate her completely. It was an animalistic need that turned on his darkest most primitive hunger. One that he could not resist.

Caroline Forbes had to live by his rules now. He would keep her safe. Her survival would not be an issue even if he would have to lock her into a gilded cage for the rest of her eternity. But she would not touch his emotions again. Never again.

Adelaide noticed in that moment that Niklaus Mikaelson had made his mind; a part of her felt sorry for the unknown girl that would have to endure such a dreadful fate. But the Original Hybrid had to be controlled and without his emotions only his mate would be the failsafe that would keep the world safe from Klaus.

Sacrifices would have to be made for the greater good and even though she did not care for it that much she did care for her own interest. And a reckless Original with access to so much power as Niklaus Mikaelson had was a danger to all the supernatural world unless he would be able to be contained by a weakness that would keep him interested and sidetracked. So his precious Caroline would have to be the one to take in his demented nature and depravity for the sake of everyone else. Maybe even stall Klaus' darkness until her would be able to turn his emotions back on. Even if that would take him years or centuries.

Adelaide reached him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"However if you chose to do so you should be careful," she cautioned, "Caroline has power over you. And I can assure you, as history has proven over and over again, in a power play, one way or another it is the woman that always wins."


	8. The Point of No Return

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **Additional warning: The story will turn darker from now and on. You have been warned.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

Klaus walked into Caroline's room and looked at the unconscious beauty on the bed. Her skin had turned pale. Due to his compulsion she had been sleeping for more than twenty four hours now. And yet no matter the anemic shade of her ivory skin she looked like a vision of feminine beauty.

He slowly got to her bed and sat down next to her. The mattress dipped under his weight and he let his hand cup the top of her head. He caressed her hair almost tenderly but he felt nothing. He wondered if her beauty was enhanced in his eyes due to the mating bond they supposedly shared. However his eyes did not roam to her nakedness. They were fixated on her face. On those long eyelashes and those splendid cheekbones. On her pale lips that he still wanted to kiss.

He could not take his eyes away from that beautiful tranquility that was painted in her sleeping features for he knew that it would not last for long.

Truth was that a part of him longed to watch her eyes again and he knew that when she would open them again her gaze would be full of fear and terror but it was necessary. He had to erase every doubt for what was happening and what was about to come and there was only way to do so.

He let go of her hair and got up from the bed. He walked towards the alcove window and watched the snowy mountains ahead. He took a deep breath and turned his head to the side to take one more peek of the sleeping beauty on the bed. He pressed his lips annoyed and pushed his hands inside the pockets of his trousers as he focused on the view of the landscape once more.

" _I know you_ _'re in_ _love with me. And anybody capable of love_ is _capable_ _of being saved."_

There was a time her words had brought him such hope. Manipulative words meant to make him save her life and yet words that warmed his heart long enough for him to save her. Long in enough for him to hope. He pondered what would happen now if he forced himself to turn it back on. Would he hope again? Would he go mad with desire and torment when Caroline would reject him once more after everything he did to her?

Elijah believed once upon a time that he was capable of redemption but he knew better. He knew how their kind was beyond salvation and all it took was a blonde cheerleader to ignite the delusion of hope inside him after a thousand years of loneliness.

And yet the world kept turning in the same way it always had. Elijah believed in his redemption and now he was rotting inside his coffin. Those memories seemed so far away now as if another man had lived those moments.

His emotions meant nothing. Caroline was doomed to the same aches his family has been condemned because of him. That would not change either he would turn his humanity on again or not.

Every part of his mind refused to allow this to happen. He refused to feel weak. More so he could not afford to be weak. Not anymore. Anyone would be able to use Caroline against him if he allowed to be blinded and distracted by his feelings for her;

And most importantly her mere existence was a thorn on his side.

He spent centuries in perpetual torment. His curse, his father, his siblings. He could not spend the next millennia in torment once more. Caroline's curse was far worse than the one he had to endure for so long in the past. This one would break him. She would break him and he would not even be able to kill her. To tear that beautiful head of hers away from her shoulders and be done with it.

Or maybe… he would.

The knock on the door took him out of his reverie.

"Enter," he said without turning to face the door.

One of his witches entered the room and bowed slightly showing her respect.

"My lord," she said politely.

To the outside word such greeting would seem old fashion and ridiculous but he kept witches from old lines in his retinue. Witches that respected the old order of the supernatural world. Descendants of covens that stretched back centuries and were in his service ever since the dawn of the last millennium.

"Is everything in order?" he quietly asked as he watched the sun setting on the horizon.

"Just as you requested," the woman replied.

Klaus hummed pleased and waved his hand on the air dismissing the witch.

When she got out of the room Klaus stood in silence until the purple shade of the coming night was cast upon the snow; he then returned back to Caroline with a sad smile.

"It is time sweetheart," he lamented as he picked her up.

* * *

Klaus kept her body close as he climbed down the stairs made of ancient wood and stone. The air was cold and he could smell dust and decay deep inside the humidity that was running down the stones. He was carrying Caroline's naked body in bridal style as he strode towards the hidden crypts and the dungeons he had built centuries ago underneath the compound. Underground floors creating a maze and cloaked with magic that led to secret getaways and exits as also to dead ends that created a whole city underneath the house he had built and stretched underneath the caverns of the mountains for miles and miles.

He had spent decades trapping vampires and torturing on the tombs underneath this mansion. Some of them were still rotting in some of the wells and mausoleums even beneath the earth.

He kept walking until he reached a narrow staircase that led to a corridor that resembled the entrance of a cave. To the end of it there was a rusty iron door and two warlocks were waiting outside of it.

The warlock with the black skin opened the door for him and he entered the dungeon that was lit with hundreds of candles. The scent of sulfur and of the burning salt was almost overwhelming.

More witches were waiting inside and he heard the door closing behind him and walked towards the prison cage that was deep inside the massive space made of rock and iron.

He looked down at Caroline for a moment but any hesitation faded as fast as it came and he took her to the end of the cage and put her on the floor. He pushed her body until she sat up against the wall. Her head rolled on the front as if it was part of a ragdoll while he reached for her hand and shackled it to one of the spelled manacles that were hanging from the stone wall. He did the same with her other hand. Both of her arms were tied to the old metal handcuffs and stretched above her head. He pulled on the chains forcibly and was pleased to see that they were not breaking. Caroline would not be able to break free.

He got up and dusted his hands and trousers as he went towards the table that was set outside the cage. The witches were already burning incense on a cauldron and were reading chants from the pages of the grimoire books they had opened on the table.

Klaus looked at the bowl that was filled with blood and the sage and rosemary leaves that were put next to it.

"Is everything ready?" he asked the witch next to him and she smiled pleasantly.

"Everything is in order," she assured him and Klaus nodded. He looked back at Caroline and took out his jacket. He gave it to one of the servants and then his shoes and socks followed. He took out his necklaces too as Adelaide's voice was echoing inside his head.

 _ **In Adelaide's mansion the day before.**_

 _He was now sitting on one of the metal chairs of the old antique patio furniture on one of the balconies of Adelaide's mansion. The Russian sky was filled with stars and the wind was cold._

 _Klaus was still thinking of how this new information would be useful to him._

 _A mate bond with Caroline._

 _He was already making a mental list of everything that could go wrong and of how he could use this to his advantage. He could already feel the excitement his wolf was feeling in a primal level. Conquering Caroline's body and mind was a thrill that resembled an emotion but it was far more wild and instinctual. It was a physical need and a mental one. Animalistic, primal, carnal. It was everything a feeling could never be. Part of him was intrigued about how this would feel combined with emotions but he also knew that with emotions he would never act on the darkest instincts that were buried deep inside his wolf._

 _Adelaide got up from her chair after finishing her drink and took one of the apples from one of the plates and twirled the fruit in her hand._

 _She came near him and leaned against the table._

" _Of course there is only one way to make sure that our theory stands," she said with a raised eyebrow feigning indifference. And yet there was mischief in her eyes._

 _Klaus leaned back to his chair and looked at her intrigued._

" _Which is?"_

 _Adelaide bent over and brought the apple in front of his mouth._

" _We need to put the affection your wolf has for this girl to the test," she tempted him and he smirked before he took a bite from the apple._

* * *

"You know what to do," Klaus said to the witch and she nodded.

She took the green leaves and put the end of the bunch inside the blood and started rotating it until the blood swirled inside the bronze bowl.

Klaus unbuttoned the sleeves of his shirt and went back to the cell. He took a deep breath and approached Caroline. He crouched down and gripped her chin pushing her head back to the wall. His eyes scrutinized her face memorizing every detail of her features. Her blonde hair a halo around her face.

If by the off chance his obsession with Caroline was not a mate bond then this would be the last time he would ever see Caroline. His face reached hers and he inhaled her scent. Addictive and seductive. The idea of never seeing her again was almost painful. If anything could resemble and ignite the emotion of fear this was it.

His lips grazed her lips and he kissed her gently before he rested his forehead on hers. If this was Caroline's last night on this earth and if he ever turned his emotions back he wanted this memory to burn his heart. To have this moment of serenity inside the rage. To have a _loving_ memory of their farewell. Even if he did not feel love right now he still wanted the memory of this moment to be one made of the same anguish this weakness would bring him if he ever was stupid enough to turn it back on.

"In case this is goodbye love," he whispered on her lips and cupped her face with his hands.

He braced himself and looked straight at her face. He had compelled to stay asleep until he would tell her to wake up.

 _ **Flashback from the previous day  
**_

" _Then kill me! Go on! Kill me!" she yelled at him but Klaus didn't move._

" _You can't can you?" Caroline boasted and before she knew it Klaus had trapped her underneath his body. He had pinned her on the bed, his hand wrapped around her throat ready to go for the kill._

 _He frowned when he realized that he wasn't able to kill her no matter how much he wanted to do so. It felt wrong. It just….felt wrong. The fact that it actually felt something made him even more intrigued. How could he be feeling anything when he still didn't have his emotions?_

 _His eyes dilated and Caroline was trapped by his compulsion once more._

" _Go to sleep Caroline. You won't wake up until I command you to," he compelled her and Caroline's eyes slowly closed. She let a pained sigh escape her lips as her breaths became even and her head rolled to the side. She was fast asleep._

* * *

It was now time.

"Wake up sweetheart," he whispered and Caroline's breath started picking up pace. She stirred in his hands as sleep was starting to release its hold on her.

"Open your eyes Caroline," Klaus ordered her with a firm voice and slowly Caroline's eyelids fluttered before she opened her eyes.

Klaus smiled as she blinked. She looked disoriented and as if she could not see clearly. However she kept blinking until his face came to focus and she finally woke up.

She tried to move and sit up but her hands were tied up on the chains. She gasped looking confused and Klaus did not let go of her face.

"What the hell!" she croaked. Her voice hoarse from the sleep. She tried to move her hands and her head but it was obvious she was feeling weak. After a mental breakdown, a snapped neck and a compelled induced sleep she has been left without blood for hours as her heart could not pump any of its own. However the adrenaline was already kicking in.

"Welcome back sweetheart."

Klaus smile broadened and she pushed her head away from his hands glaring at him. And Klaus enjoyed that green shade of her eyes more than anything else. The fire inside them was always calling him closer.

"What is going on?" she exclaimed as she tried to break the chains that were holding her captive on the wall.

"The bonds are spelled sweetheart," Klaus informed her casually as he sat back on his heels; his attention solely on her.

Caroline realized that she was naked and chained on the wall. She blushed and pulled her knees up to her chest in order to cover herself from Klaus' intrusive and hungry gaze.

"What is this?" she hissed in a demanding tone even though she was panicking now.

"Just a test," Klaus shrugged and Caroline's breathing became labored. She was feeling dizzy and weak and her hands were stretched above her head tied on metal medieval cuffs.

"Test?" she whispered with an incredulous look as she tried to break free once more without any success. Klaus arched his eyebrow at her attempt looking amused by her persistent efforts to set herself free even though it was pointless.

Caroline remembered when Klaus had first came to Mystic Falls and his witches had kidnapped her and Tyler in order for Klaus to use them to the ritual. They had tied her back to a wall in a similar position but at least they had allowed her some dignity and back then somehow even though she knew that she was about to die she was not feeling the same terror she was starting to feel now. Damon had saved her and Tyler back in time but no one would save her now.

The only person that could was…Klaus.

She had to make him see reason but as she opened her mouth to speak she starting paying attention to her surroundings and she realized that she was not alone with Klaus in this place. This was not one of his usual games. It was not a sexual twisted fantasy of his or a simple torture session. It was far more terrifying and intimidating and she started heaving. Every thought that was coming to her mind now was dreadful. Whatever Klaus was planning could not be good.

She was inside a dungeon cell. Naked and chained on the wall. The world was once more coming to focus and it was a dark reality that resembled stuff of nightmares.

Far away from the iron bars of the cell she could hear chanting. She turned her head to the left and noticed three witches behind a table. There was smoke coming from bowls on the table and she noticed symbols made from ash and salt or something that looked like salt. The witches had their eyes closed as they kept whispering.

Caroline looked at Klaus with fear and a questioning gaze but he only smirked and got up. As he towered over her Caroline's eyes widened in utter terror. She was going numb with fear.

There were more people chained on the walls of the cell. They were also naked but they were not struggling against their restrains. They seemed to be in some kind of trance. Their eyes seemed vacant as they remained silent and unmoving.

She counted nine people. Five men and four women. If she added herself too to the sum the result was ten chained people inside the dungeon.

Caroline looked up at Klaus. He had crossed his hands behind his back and waited for her to say something. It was official. Klaus was off his rocket. He was in his most psychotic manic state.

"Klaus…what are you doing?" Caroline gulped and tried to keep her calm. Whatever he was planning it could not be for good. She wanted to scream at him but she was afraid to push his limits right now no matter how scared and furious she was.

"I already told you sweetheart," he slowly said with a mien of disappointment in his voice as if her questions were boring him.

"A test? What kind of test," she asked trying to keep her voice steady and not yell at him.

"One for you and me love," he enigmatically said and Caroline pressed her lips. She slumped back to the wall and looked at him desperately.

"Klaus please-"

Before she could say anything else he crouched down in front of her once more.

"Sssh," he soothed and caressed her cheeks tenderly.

"Don't do this," she pleaded with him and Klaus titled his head. Caroline realized that he was not feeling anything. Damn him! He had turned it off!

"I am afraid it's necessary," he said with a voice void of emotion.

"Listen to me please! This is not you. Whatever you want to do to me…you will regret it. When you turn it back on you will regret this Klaus," she tried to reason with him and Klaus narrowed his eyes.

She leaned more into his touch and looked deeply into his eyes with as much emotion she had. She hated begging for her life like this but she had to make this stop. She had to survive and she would survive only if Klaus would turn it back on.

"I have seen good in you. I felt it and I wanted it to feel more of it. Klaus you-"

"I have fallen for you," he interrupted her and she nodded with a pained expression.

"You did and it made me feel things I could not admit to you or even myself," she whispered. She knew that she had to be honest. If she lied he would know and she would lose her chance of convincing him to back down.

"You lie," Klaus rejected her and pulled his hands of her face.

"No no! I don't! You know I don't or you should know! If you had your emotions right now you would be able to see that I am not lying to you. I do not know…I could not name what I was feeling. I do not know if I was falling in love or not but whatever it was…it was scaring me and you knew that," she pressed him and Klaus looked at her with a detached look.

"Oh God remember! Just remember! You may have turned it off but your memories are still there. Remember how it felt, remember how it was when we were getting close to each other," she urged him as panic was now settling inside her more and more.

"It was a game of manipulation," he scorned and Caroline shook her head.

"No! I mean… yes…this was part of it but it was also _real_. And whatever _it_ was…I will never be able to give it a name if you do whatever it is you are planning!"

Klaus furrowed his brow and Caroline bit her lip harshly.

"You are taking away our chance Klaus," he frantically tried to reach for that part of his heart she was hoping it was still there.

"After everything that happened…everything I did to you… do you really expect me to believe that you would actually give us…give _me_ … a chance?" he asked her with a low voice full of doubt and Caroline swallowed hard.

"I don't know," she admitted, "but you are never going to find out if you do this," Caroline pressured a reaction from him. She was brutally honest and she wanted him to see this.

Klaus assessed her with a hard look.

"Turn it back on. Please," she begged him and Klaus' jaw clenched.

"Please Klaus," she implored as tears fell from her eyes. She didn't want to die. Not now. Not like this. She had not lived yet. She had not seen the world. She had not laughed and loved in the way she should. She was too young. She was just beginning. Her life could not end like this.

Klaus kneeled in front of her.

"Once upon a time I have told you you and I are the same," he reminded her and caressed her tear stricken face.

"Therefore I know I have ensured your hate and I know how your weave of manipulation works," he bit out and Caroline sniffed and took a harsh breath.

"If we are the same then you know how it feels. How it feels to burn and hate and care and how it feels to show compassion and mercy. If you and I are the same then do what I would do. Turn it back on," she challenged him and Klaus pushed his head back.

"You would not turn it back," he said but without the same conviction as before.

"I would! You would make sure I would. You wouldn't force me but you would not let me pass the point of no return," she knowingly told him and Klaus nodded.

"I would not," he admitted.

"Don't allow yourself to do that either. Turn it back Klaus! Turn it back!" she insisted passionately and saw how he faltered for a moment.

She could see his struggle and she tried to move closer to him but the chains didn't allow it. Hope filled her heart for a moment. He was so close to turn it back on. She could see it. And if he did she would be safe. She knew she would. If he got his emotions back he would not hurt her.

" _Klaus please,"_ she whispered in a barely audible voice. Trying to somehow touch that little chord he had left in his heart. The one that could make that emotional song start playing again.

"My lord we are ready to proceed."

The witch's cold voice passed through Caroline and Klaus as if it was electric current. The witch with the red hair had entered the cell and was now standing behind Klaus.

Caroline saw with horror how Klaus' eyes lost that small spark of light that was there just a moment ago.

He got up and Caroline struggled against her chains.

"Don't do this!" she yelled at him unable to hold back any longer. She looked up at him feeling dread covering her whole as Klaus gazed down at her with a detached look.

He turned to look at the witch.

"Begin," he ordered her and Caroline shook her head and started pulling at the chains making her wrists bleed.

"Klaus stop!" she screamed and started trembling when she saw how Klaus was starting to unbutton his shirt.

The witch that came to inform him that everything was ready left the cage and then quickly returned back holding a bowl on her hands.

Caroline looked petrified as the witch started chanting. She was holding some green leaves that were dripping with blood. She went to the other side of the cell and started shaking the bloody leaves to the air above one of the chained people.

Caroline's widened as she realized that the man's eyes turned vampiric. He looked lost and was not moving but veins started appearing underneath his eyes that were now bloodshot. He opened his mouth and his fangs dropped. It seemed as if his mouth went slack and drops from the blood the witch had thrown at him were now running down over his face and chest.

Caroline realized that Klaus had also taken out his belt and was undoing his trousers now too. He was already shirtless. A witch was next to him ready to take his shirt, his belt and his trousers.

He was taking off his clothes. Caroline started panting with so much fear that was clouding everything.

She threw her head back looked up at the wall above. Maybe if she would just remove the chains from the wall instead of trying to break her hands free. She crouched down on her heels with frantic movements and tried to pull on the chains and pull the embedded hook they were attached to on the wall. It wasn't budging. Rationally she knew that even if she would be able to break free from the chains she stood no chance against Klaus and his witches but she had to try.

Klaus was watching her every move closely and intently and Caroline saw how the witch was repeating the same ritual with every person in the dungeon. She also noticed that the candles outside the cell were now burning brighter.

She started gasping for air. She was going to die. Whatever Klaus was planning it would result to her death. She knew it. She was now hyper aware of the danger and her senses were alert and were painfully submitting to terror. Her bravery in the face of death lost.

She noticed that every chained person was a vampire and their faces were now turning into their monstrous features.

"Klaus stop! Please stop!" she yelled at him but it seemed as if she was talking to a wall. Klaus had stripped and he stood naked leaning against the bars waiting for his witch to finish whatever she was doing. He didn't seem to care that he was naked. He didn't seem to care at all. Her pleading and her terror did nothing to him.

Caroline screamed as the witch finally approached her.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled at the witch and she was ready to kick her when the young woman came closer but an older witch from outside the cell extended her hand towards Caroline and blinding pain exploded inside Caroline's head. The one witch was giving her an aneurism making her fall on the dirty ground in pain and writhe against the chains as the other witch came and chanted foreign words spraying Caroline with blood from the leaves.

Caroline screamed in pain as her vampire nature broke free. Her eyes changed and she growled as her fangs dropped. She bit her mouth with her sharp razor teeth drawing blood and she barely saw that the witch knelt in front of her.

She felt the green leaves from the sage and the rosemary caress her skin. The witch was painting her body with blood. Human blood from the smell of it.

Caroline yelled in more pain as the pain from the aneurism was mind blowing and shook her head when the witch in front of her titled the bowl over her head and bathed her with the blood. Caroline coughed and licked the blood that covered her face and was poured down to her whole body.

While the witch had simply dribbled only some drops of blood to the rest vampires in the dungeon she was making sure that Caroline would be covered in warm human blood from head to toe.

Caroline screeched in pain almost paralyzed and ready to faint when finally the witch in front of her stood up and stopped chanting and the witch outside the cell stopped giving her an aneurism.

Caroline panted in relief for only a moment before the terror settled in. Her hair had stuck on her head all red and wet now. Blood was dripping in her eyes and mouth. Her whole face and body was covered in it.

She tried to change her face back but she realized she could not. Her fangs would not recede back to her gums and her eyes could not change back to their natural color. She kept trying to turn her face back but she could not.

"Klaus please don't do this," she cried but Klaus straightened up his body and walked to the center of the cell.

"Raise the barrier," he commanded the witch and casually stretched.

Caroline's eyes widened as the three witches placed salt all around the dungeon and started chanting.

Suddenly the air seemed to becoming less in the room. More suffocating. Magic thrummed on the ground and on the air and Caroline realized that the witches had created a magical barrier like the one they had put in the door and the window of her room. They had trapped Klaus with magic inside the cell too.

One of the witches then closed the iron door of the cell and locked it. All the fires from the candles got extinguished as one of the witches waved her hand in the air and darkness filled the room.

Caroline gaped at Klaus as she saw his eyes turning yellow and looking straight at her into the dark. They were shining with gold and his double fangs glimmered.

And then she knew. Realization dawned on her and along with it fright and the sense of doom were born on the pit of her stomach.

She knew what he was about to do and time stopped.

"I do not want to die," she beseeched in a barely audible whisper feeling frozen.

The witches left the room closing the main door behind them and everything seemed more frightening and eerie silent.

Klaus looked at her and she breathed heavily.

"Klaus," she whispered his name as if it could be her salvation and not her damnation but it was too late. This was probably the last word she would ever utter. She was about to become one of Klaus' faceless victims. She was going to die a horrific death as his chew toy.

Klaus closed his eyes and titled his head to the side. Caroline bit her lip as she heard the cracking of bone. Tears fell on her cheeks mingling with the blood.

Klaus' body convulsed and his bones started breaking. Caroline rested her head against the wall clenching her eyes shut. Klaus fell to the floor, his hands digging into the stone as he screamed in pain. His body and limbs started twisting in unnatural angles.

His eyes turned more golden and the noise from the shuttering bones seemed to be what made the rest of the vampires come out of their trance.

Caroline heard screams of terror and opened her eyes. Klaus was changing into a werewolf and the vampires that were chained in the wall were now trying to break free as whatever spell kept them in their former mindless state was now broken. The unknown vampires just like her could not escape from their bonds but they kept trying between screams and frantic movements. They yelled for help and mercy as they realized what was about to happen and the only person that stood silent and at ease in the dungeon was Caroline.

She had surrendered in her fate or her fear had made her quit and made her mind go blank. Covered in blood, naked, chained to a wall and ready to be sacrificed inside a dungeon. Meat to be chewed between teeth and venom.

Klaus turned his face towards her and looked straight into her eyes. He was covered in sweat. Fur was starting to form in his face and body. Claws were coming out and his golden hued eyes were locked with her vampire ones for an endless moment in time before his spine curled and changed. Paws with sharp nails scratched the rocks underneath the weight of the massive animal.

The screams coming from everyone else were lost as she looked at the beast with awe and dread. It was only one voice she could hear now. Klaus voice that taunted her. A voice from the past.

" _Don't worry love…You know I would never hurt you."_

He had once promised her this. But it was too late. It was over.

That Klaus was gone and she was now facing the wolf.


	9. I Put a Spell on You

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Gore, horror,** **b**_ _ _ **estiality,**_ **torture.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 _ **Two weeks ago**_

 _After the panic settled in the calm came and all that was left were two naked bodies covered in dirt and blood entangled in the throes of sleep. Slow breaths and no movement until the slow and steady echo of a heartbeat pierced Klaus' lethargy and brought him back to life._

 _The particles of the dust dancing in the pale shadows of the darkness, that prevailed inside the dungeon that allowed no light in, was the first thing Klaus saw as his eyes adjusted to the darkness once he woke up from the deepest and most sound sleep he had ever surrendered to in his long life._

 _And then all he felt was warmth. He was not a wolf anymore. His blood did not run hot in his veins. It had once more cooled down and yet warmth was surrounding him. Klaus raised his eyes to see Caroline's pale face._

 _She had also fallen asleep. She was still chained on the wall but she had given in to exhaustion. Her whole body seemed to be boneless and weightless as she rested against the wall, her face rolled over to the side. She looked like a puppet tossed broken in the ground still caught in her strings._

 _He did not remember when he changed back to his human form but he still retained his memories from the hours he was trapped in animal form. He remembered how his tongue had licked the blood out of Caroline's face and her skin and how his body still relishing in the wolf form had sought comfort from Caroline's warmth._

 _He had destroyed every creature in the dungeon but her. Once his wolf was unleashed carnage followed but once he approached Caroline the whole world shifted. He stopped craving bloodlust and all he wanted was to be near her. He could still remember every detail._

 _Her awe and her fear. Oh her fear! It was so palpable. The blood on her skin smelled sweeter but it was her scent that was calling him closer. He was drawn to the sweetest scent that every molecule of her skin carried._

 _Her heartbeat would not stop coming to his ears faster and faster. Erratic and deafening. He was so lost in her. In the way her breathing became labored and her tears fell. He remembered how the blood tasted on her skin and how it felt to lie on top of her and how his body wanted nothing more than to mate with her and protect her until the end of time._

 _He could feel nothing now but he felt everything as a wolf. The kind of primitive emotion that was still reverberating under his skin and calmed his need to turn it back on right now since he had defused that need through his wolf. If anything as far as his emotional switch went he felt more balanced and in control now than ever before. He didn't feel even the inkling of the tingling temptation to turn it back on. That annoying feeling that was always there underneath the surface ever since the witches in New Orleans took away his humanity. The same temptation he felt whenever Caroline was close. It was gone now. He channeled every suppressed feeling in his animal and left his vampire side untainted._

 _He looked at the beauty beneath him and smirked. His mate._

 _Caroline had feebly tried to fight against him last night but his wolf was having none of it. Eventually she even stopped breathing once his weight fell on top of her naked body and all he remembered was how he had found peace. Every lethal instinct had faded away and his wolf was finally at home. So much that he hummed and purred and let go and closed his eyes and stood still inhaling Caroline's scent and memorizing everything about her in his mind wanting nothing more than to mark her._

 _And somehow he fell asleep with his mate underneath him and he changed back into his human body during his sleep._

 _Somehow he had managed to wrap his hands around Caroline's body and to sleep on top of her. His legs were intertwined with hers now and his head was resting on her soft breasts. He was holding on to her tight._

 _He recalled every possessive emotion that surged through him while he was a wolf and now he knew beyond any doubt that Caroline was indeed his mate._

 _There were no words to describe how that had felt. How coming face to face with his mate as a wolf felt. It was electric. Magnetic. Intoxicating._

 _It was as if she had swallowed the sun and the stars and most importantly the moon and his wolf relied only on her for air and light. Her presence was everything. Every instinct he had wanted to have her, protect her, claim her. He wanted her as a wolf and he wanted her as a man and now that he had turned into his animal skin and felt her flesh and taste on his tongue he wanted her even more than before._

 _She was his._

 _He slowly rubbed his face against her neck. His tongue searching for her pulse point. He dragged the edge of his tongue against the tender flesh and even though he could hear the blood rushing through her veins he did not feel the need to bite her. He felt the need to lick and kiss and so he did. Slowly, sensually and with soft lips and warm breaths. He could smell himself on her skin. Or to be more exact he could smell his wolf on her skin. That made him feel even more possessive than before._

 _He felt Caroline stirring and he wrapped his hands around her waist more crashing her body against his._

 _The chains on the wall rattled as she was startled awake. She blinked awake and Klaus titled his head back so to see her eyes. Emotionally he felt nothing but instinctually now he felt everything. It was primal and borderline primitive. It was a sensation of possession and obsession over the one and only thing in the world that now belonged to him and him alone. The one thing he would never let go._

 _The woman that was now staring back at him confused and disoriented. And then reality seemed to crashing back into her blurry uncertain gaze and he saw pure terror reflecting in those lovely green eyes that shone anew with tears._

" _Shhh," he comforted her and gently kissed her lips, "you are safe," he promised and saw how stunned she seemed._

" _Klaus," she breathed out and for a moment he noticed how relieved she was to be facing his human form. But then she looked around and saw the blood in the walls and the torn limbs that were scattered around and she started trembling._

 _Her fear was something he hated and adored at the same time. He wanted to tell her that she had nothing to fear and at the same time he loved that she was scared of him. It was making him feel powerful and was making him crave to see and feel her submission._

 _Before he could think anything else his hands cupped her face and he forced her eyes on his. His lips locked with hers and Caroline was so surprised by his intensity that her lips quivered giving him the opening he needed. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and felt his whole body coming alive. It was as if undiluted adrenaline was poured inside his brain and came rushing into his veins like a firestorm. The first kiss he was giving her after turning back from his wolf form while knowing and coming to terms that he was kissing his mate. It was electrifying. The most arousing moment he had felt in centuries. Every part of him craved her. She was not struggling but he could hear the sound of the chains as he pushed her violently back to the wall and her hands wrapped around the metal rings trying to find support from something. He wanted nothing more than to fuck her but he also wanted to hunt and kill and he did not want to break her. She was weak and scared and he was losing control. He did not want to risk it. They had all the time in the world after all._

 _With great effort he detached his lips from hers and noticed how she panted. He smirked as he smelled her arousal and saw the blush in her otherwise almost grey cheeks. The dungeon was bathed in darkness but their eyes could see in the dark._

 _He brushed some of her bloody matted hair behind her ear and then he heard it._

 _It was…enchanting._

" _Incredible" he mumbled in awe as he realized that both of their heartbeats were in perfect sync. His heartbeat seemed to be synchronizing with hers._

" _What?" she breathed out and he could tell how drained she felt. She needed to drink and a lot of blood and get a lot of rest and he needed to hunt._

 _He looked at her pale face and accepted the truth as the irrevocable finality of their lives from now and on._

" _It seems that you are indeed…my mate."_

* * *

Caroline was pacing back and forth in her room.

The skirt of the black short silk dress she was wearing was flowing around her legs making her feel as if she was not wearing anything. Of course the clothes in the wardrobe here were all provocative elegant dresses and gowns but right now this was the least of her problems. What was her problem was that everything irritated her and annoyed her. The feeling of silk against her skin was annoying her and she wanted to tear every dress Klaus have given her and then she wanted to destroy this stupid room and this horrible place from the foundation and leave nothing but ash.

She kicked off her heels and started walking back and forth barefoot while feeling the need to pull her hair. She was starting to go mad for that she was sure. She had all this frustration and pent up energy and she could not find a way to let it out. It was just building up inside her more and more every day.

She looked at the same view from her window and she wanted to yell at the stupid snow and the stupid mountains and the stupid never ending chaos that lied beneath this stupid castle.

She had missed the sunny days. She had missed the noise of cars and people. She had missed her mom and her friends and her freedom.

 _Her friends_ …were they even searching for her? She was missing for so long they should be trying to find her by now. Her mom should be worrying sick. And even if they could find her how would they go up against Klaus?

This was so messed up!

She should be registering at college now. Starting her new life. God…She has missed her life!

Being in confinement sucked! She had been locked in this room for half a month! The barriers were up on the door and the window and she was left alone in her seclusion and imprisonment. Considering everything that happened she knew things could be way worse but she had so many questions and Klaus was nowhere to answer them.

After what happened in the dungeon he had locked her in this room and she had not seen or heard from him ever since. She didn't know if this was a good sign or not but she had all these thoughts swirling in her mind and she had no one to talk to.

Klaus' witches were coming and going. Bringing her food, blood and books. They had stocked the mini fridge with pastries and beverages and they had also brought her alcohol. They had been unusually kind asking if she wanted or needed anything. Of course giving her freedom was out of the question but they kept treating her as if she was an honored guest and not a prisoner. And for some reason that was making her even angrier.

Whenever she asked to meet with Klaus she was facing silence and kind smiles and people asking her if there was anything else they could do for her.

Caroline wanted to scream.

An echo of his words kept twirling and swirling in her head making the world spin over and over again throwing her to uncertainty and madness.

His _mate_ he had said.

What did that even mean?

She closed her eyes and no matter how much it pained her she brought forth every memory she had from that night. All the terror and the horror. She had to somehow make sense of what has happened but all she could see and feel was those bright yellow eyes glistening in the darkness as if they encompassed shimmering fire in their depths.

And those teeth. Those long sharp teeth. Ready to tear apart the whole world.

 _ **Two weeks ago**_

 _She should be afraid. She knew she should be. Maybe it was the absolute terror that had numbed everything inside her. Maybe she had surrendered to the impossible but right now all she could do was block out all the bloodcurdling screams and stare at the feral massive wolf transfixed. Everything seemed to be still around her even though the ravenous wolf kept leaping and pouncing on its victims and Caroline was amazed that this hungry terrifying huge creature was Klaus._

 _The sounds that were coming from lips and teeth chewing on raw flesh were by far the worse but the wolf looked majestic nonetheless._

 _His muscles were shifting upon every move. His sandy glass like fur was shining in the darkness as he was ripping the vampires that were chained in the wall apart with his canines. The gold in his eyes shined liked flaming emerald in the black shadows._

 _Everyone kept screaming. Shrill sounds of pure agony as the wolf scratched and bit and seared their bodies with venom and teeth. Body parts scattered all around. Torn flesh and blood covered the floor and the walls. The werewolf was feasting on the vampires tearing them apart as if they were made from silk and paper._

 _Caroline had never heard the sound of flesh tearing like this before. And then silence erupted. The screams faded and Caroline realized that she was the only one left alive. She didn't dare move. She didn't dare breathe. She was chained in the wall, covered in blood with her heart beating like a drum and the wolf now prowled closer to her. Tears fell from her eyes as he viciously gnashed his teeth at her._

 _The brown color of the wolf's fur was now crimson colored, wet in blood. Caroline folded her legs in front of her waiting for the inevitable to come. Everything was black but her vampire vision was as sharp as ever despite her tears._

 _The wolf was seizing her up and down with his gleaming eyes. He was taking in its prey before he would sink its razor sharp teeth into her skin and would tear her apart. Caroline could see pieces of skin and flesh stuck in Klaus' fangs as he growled menacingly at her. He scratched the stones of the ground with his claws as he let his paws slide on the cold surface. Slowly._

 _She closed her eyes. Every memory she ever had, every feeling and every emotion passed in flashes underneath her closed eyelids. Her whole life was burning inside her mind. Laughter and tears and loss and love all blended in one memory. The wolf barked at her, his jaws snapping at her and she opened her eyes to only see the wolf's face just an inch away from her face. He was looming over her._

 _More tears feel but then her gaze was filled with steel. She didn't want to die but that did not mean that she would turn her eyes to the side and cower in front of death. She would not leave this earth like a meek shade of who she once had been. Miss Mystic Falls. Valedictorian. Human. Vampire. Daughter. Friend. A lover. She had lived. Maybe for a little while but she had lived. And she would not allow to the monster in front of her to take that away from her. She would not scream. She would not cry for mercy. Her agony would not be her defeat._

 _She stared at the wolf trying to see even a glimpse of the Klaus she once knew inside the monster's eyes._

 _But the only thing she saw was the haunting image of those bright eyes that were intensely inspecting their prey._

 _The wolf had stilled. He didn't move. He stood in stiff legs and upright posture. His head was up. He did not even growl anymore. He only watched her chained figure in the dark. Caroline counted the moments that were now stretched indefinitely in time. She knew the wolf would attack. It was only a matter of time but instead the beast in front of her did not move._

 _Caroline flinched when he started barking at her. The only energy she felt was fear and unconsciously she moved her head to the side trying to shut out the noise and the terror she felt and just like that it was gone._

 _The wolf relaxed on his two back legs and sat down. His pupils seemed dilated as he watched her in the dark. Caroline blinked unsure of what was happening. The very same wolf had not hesitated in killing everyone else in the room instantly. Why was he taking his time with her? Maybe Klaus was somewhere in there? Maybe somehow she could reach him?_

 _She tried to shift a bit but the wolf growled and she stilled once more. She looked straight into his eyes. The window of the soul for a man without a soul anymore that was turned to a werewolf. Her mortal enemy._

 _Caroline pushed herself back to the wall when the wolf suddenly got up and started prowling towards her._

 _She kept eye contact with the wolf hoping that somehow he would recognize her and would not hurt her. No matter how farfetched that kind of idea was it was her only chance. Her last chance._

 _Klaus approached her and Caroline gulped her fear down. She tried to appear confident as her palms wrapped around the chains above the manacles that kept her shackled to the wall._

 _She noticed with extreme uneasiness the wolf licking his lips spreading more blood around his muzzle. He was also sniffing the ground around her._

 _He was once more inches away from her face and Caroline felt her breath coming out in painful gasps as the wolf growled at her face and then the growling turned to whimpering._

" _Klaus please," she whispered and in return the wolf seemed to relax. Her tone. Her voice seemed to be making the massive wolf in front of her less aggressive. Caroline made shushing and humming sounds to the wolf that seemed to relax him even more. He reached his face over her stretched arm and Caroline's eyes widened when the wolf simply slid his fur against her skin slowly with a purr of satisfaction in his mouth that sounded like a moan and a sigh of relief. His tongue licked some of the blood from her arm then making her shiver and tremble in fear._

 _Caroline then yelled when she felt the tip of his fangs against her face as the cold velvet of his tongue licked her cheek and the wolf barked at her again and again and she started crying uncontrollably. She wanted to be brave. She wanted to be brave but she couldn't. However the more she cried the more she felt the wolf's tongue on her cheeks. Her eyes widened when she realized that he was trying to ….lick her tears away and to somehow sooth her fear?_

 _No that could not be. His slobber was coating her face now. It was ice cold and warm at the same time and disgusting and it was making her cringe but Klaus was not hurting her. Pieces of torn flesh from the vampire's Klaus had eaten before fell on her skin and hair._

 _Her lips quivered when Klaus started licking her whole face slowly. He started sniffing. Inhaling her scent. He started licking the blood from her skin. It was gross and she was afraid to even breathe._

 _She tried to move and at that attempt the massive canine find its way between her legs._

 _The wolf settled between her thighs and covered her whole naked body. His paws rested on the inner side of her legs and she felt his claws scratching her skin cautiously. He was not breaking her skin. He was not hurting her but she felt the sharpness of those claws and Klaus pushed his muzzle against her neck. It felt intimate, ominous and unsettling. Her whole body was tingling. She felt heat rising on her skin. It made her feel uncomfortable and nervous. She felt restless and self-conscious and so miserable and weary. It was as if her mind could not translate what was happening._

 _Caroline felt as if she was hyperventilating now. She tried to take deep breaths as her heart was pounding faster and faster. She tried to move but she felt Klaus claws ready to dig into her skin and he growled against her neck. She felt his tongue lick her ear and her neck. His fangs grazed the column of her throat and she clenched her eyes shut. One bite and it would be over._

 _She moaned in fear and the she felt the wolf moving even closer. This was so wrong. It felt wrong. It felt inhuman._

 _She felt him retracting his claws but his paws kept sliding on her skin and on the blood that painted it. The body of the wolf felt so heavy. And then she felt him taking a step back and she almost took a relieved breath but then the wolf lowered his muzzle and his tongue attacked her breasts. Her nipples hardened at the sensation as the wolf feasted on the soft curves without breaking her skin._

 _Caroline's eyes widened as she finally realized what was actually happening. He was not just licking the blood from her skin._

 _He was…hell no!_

 _No way! She started thrashing against her restraints and tried to push the wolf away and close her legs. Bile rose in her mouth and dread filled her whole. Her body started convulsing as the wolf's jaws starting snapping in front of her face. He was ready to tear her apart. He was growling and barking. His hair was now standing up. So was his tail and ears. His fangs were bare and too close on her skin. Sweat, blood and the wolf's saliva was running down her body. On her body that felt taunt, aching and also hot and cold._

 _She breathed out Klaus' name into the darkness and the thin air but the wolf was not stopping. She started screaming at him to stop and for a moment she froze when she saw the golden of his eyes dissolve and the blue familiar shade break through the yellow. She blinked and then she stared at the wolf that was now once more watching her in eerie silence with golden eyes. As if the change of color in his orbs was nothing but a figment of her imagination._

" _Klaus. Please stop," she implored him and the wolf wailed and then howled. She started trembling uncontrollably and she felt faint when the wolf came closer again._

 _But this time he only licked her face before he settled on top of her. His weight crashing her body underneath him. She could not move or even breathe. He was holding her down and every time she tried to take even a deeper breath the wolf would growl and she would gasp for breath. She felt as if her bones were about to break at any moment._

 _The massive body felt so warm on top of her and she stopped struggling all together even mentally._

 _She was just so tired. Caroline felt as if the wolf on top of her would snap at her at any moment and devour her. She counted the minutes and the hours that seemed never ending. But the only thing the wolf was doing now was snuggling on top of her and Caroline felt all the adrenaline coming out of her body in waves. Her muscles refused to remain strained and tense. Her body was giving out and she hang defeated and lifelessly on the chains feeling exhausted. The blend of awe and terror was too much and somehow what seemed terrifying before felt oddly comforting and safe now. The weight of the wolf felt as if it was a protective blanket and no matter how twisted it was her heart started beating slower and her breathing evened down._

 _As if the wolf had sensed the change in her he shifted his weight a bit and allowed her to move a bit and find a more comfortable position. This was oddly comforting and awkward and she realized that somehow Klaus as a wolf was caring for her needs and was showing to her more humanity that he was showing her in her human form._

 _She almost laughed at the absurdity of it all but her eyelids felt so heavy now. The wolf snugly curled up on top of her legs and upper body and Caroline closed her eyes._

 _She was alive. She was safe and unsafe all at once._

 _She felt herself losing all sense of time slowly as she drifted to sleep._

* * *

Caroline felt as she was going to throw up. She knew that it was not possible for vampires to be sick and how much more to throw up but this was how she felt. This could not be happening to her. It was so twisted, horrific and unbelievable.

His _mate?_ Klaus believed that she was his mate? So what? His wolf had the hots for her? How did that even work?

She cringed at the memory of the wolf licking her naked body. She shuddered at the memory and she felt violated and sick. Back in that moment she was so terrified and he had taken her by surprise and she reacted as crazy as the wolf was reacting. For a moment she thought that she had felt a weird animalistic sense of attraction towards an…animal. It was so wrong that now it was making her stomach turn and churn. She was so afraid for her life. Klaus had chained her to a wall and had his witches hurt her and bathe her in blood and he forced her to watch his carnage and then she felt grateful that she was not part of the torn bodies between his teeth and the dungeon floor and walls.

He was damaged. Klaus was damaged for that she was sure but now he had damaged her too. Her mind was locked between and forth in endless circles of fear and insanity. She could not take the image of the wolf out of her mind. She could not stop hearing Klaus' voice telling her that she was his mate.

And after that he had just locked her in this room. As if she was a thing to be stored away and taken out of the box only when it was convenient for Klaus.

She remembered how he had eventually taken off the chains and how he carried her back to this room. Her prison. Klaus had called his witches and ordered them to take care of her as he disposed her on the shower floor and left. He looked so detached and angry.

She had been in shock and then two unknown witches helped her shower and cleaned all the blood and Klaus' scent from her skin. At that point she did not even feel shame. All she felt was numbness. The witches helped her out of the shower. Dried her skin and hair and one of them offered her wrist to Caroline. She remembered biting down harshly and getting lost on the bloodlust before the other witch pressed cold fingers against Caroline's temples and her mouth went slack. She didn't feel any pain but she felt as if her whole body was heavy once more despite having some of her strength replenished after feeding on the witch. She felt tired once more and the witch she had bit cleaned her smeared with blood mouth with a clean towel and put a soft silk robe around her body. Exhaustion was taking over. The witches helped lie to the bed. They fluffed her pillows and covered her with a duvet making sure she would be comfortably tacked in the bed.

She tried to call for Klaus but he was nowhere to be found. He had disappeared and his witches caressed her hair soothingly telling her to go to sleep. She remembered how she had closed her eyes and how in the haze of her mind she pretended for a moment that their hands belonged to Elena and Bonnie. She felt so tired. Not just physically. Her heart ached. She was so alone. She had no one. A few tears slipped from her eyes as she fell asleep once more shutting the fear away and falling to oblivion.

Things changed after that. She had slept for more than twenty hours that day and she woke up alone. She had cried and tried to make her body stop shivering as the memories assaulted her mind. The next shower she had taken was on her own. She had screamed and punched the tiles breaking them. She wanted to wash away the memories and the feeling of helplessness.

Then the days passed slowly. She realized that there was no use crying about it anymore. She had to keep her mind clear and she had to find answers and most of all a solution to this mess.

By Klaus orders the witches were not starving her anymore and she was being treated nicely but that kind of civility by Klaus' lackeys was making her suspense build up to new heights and this was making her worry even more.

Caroline was just so confused as to what it all meant and she kept being in denial. She kept asking for Klaus but no one was paying any attention to what she wanted.

… _You are my mate…_

"Ugh!" she grunted as Klaus' voice was still drilled deep inside her mind.

This was not possible. This was insane and probably a side effect of Klaus losing his emotions and with them his freaking common sense. There had to be another explanation for this mess and his obsession with her. Because her being his mate was out of the freaking question.

She was not a wolf! She could not be his mate. And even if she theoretically could be her karma could not be screwing with her this way. No. This was not an option.

Klaus was out of his mind. That was it and nothing else. And somehow she had to make him see reason.

But how could see do this if she could not even see him?

She threw her head back and gritted her teeth. This was a nightmare.

She shook her head and took in deep breaths. No. She would not give this mate nonsense any more thought because she would lose her mind and because it was simply not true. She had to compose herself and keep calm. She had to keep her patience and herself in check and hope somehow for the best.

Her shoulders fell and she felt tears in her eyes which she stubbornly pushed back. There was nothing bright in this situation. Her optimism was fading day by day. Hoping for the best was taking her nowhere. She was stuck. Literally stuck in a creepy mansion playing the puppet to Klaus' puppeteer.

She huffed, took a blood bag from the mini fringe, and went and sat to the pillows set on the alcove window. She brought her knees up to the pillows and leaned back against the cold hard stone looking at the horizon with boredom. She closed her eyes as she sucked on the blood realizing that she didn't get any pleasure out of drinking it while her mind kept reminding her how trapped she was while feeling her with endless despair. Everything felt stale and tasteless. She hated this. She hated being locked up inside a gilded cage as if she was Klaus's personal trophy and as the devil himself had predicted she hated him more than anything else.

God she hated Klaus! Like she had never hated anyone or anything else in her entire life before. All she wanted was to make him suffer. She wanted him to turn back his emotions not only because he would set her free but because she knew that it would hurt. It would hurt like hell and she wanted him to feel the pain and the misery and the agony. She wanted him to suffer and she wanted him to suffer because of her.

He has managed to poison her mind and heart. He had done everything in his power to make her hate him and he achieved it. _Mate_ or not she would never forgive him for this.

He had compelled her and took away her freedom. He practically raped her. Sure he had the excuse of taking away her inhibitions and making her act on her desires but this was such bullshit! She would have never had sex with him that night if he had not compelled her. It was rape and on top of that he had made her kill a woman. He had starved her and then let her loose against a defenseless girl. Those memories were those that haunted her the most.

Along with the fright and humiliation she had felt in the dungeon. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the wolf prowling towards her. Blood and mangled flesh dripping from his teeth. Bloody fur and golden eyes. Growling and snapping at her. His tongue on her skin.

Caroline shook her head and looked at the snow trying to get out of her mind those horrific memories. How long would this last? How long would Klaus keep her like this? This was hopeless. And if he believed that she was his mate then why was he even treating her like this? Weren't mates supposed to care for each other? And if so shouldn't this trigger something in him? Something to make him turn it back on?

Damn him! She had been so close. She had almost made him turn back on. There was a moment he was tempted to switch his humanity back. She was sure of it. And she failed. Emotionless or not Klaus remained the same stubborn unyielding pig headed moron he always has been!

 _ **Two weeks ago**_

 _"If we are the same then you know how it feels. How it feels to burn and hate and care and how it feels to show compassion and mercy. If you and I are the same then do what I would do. Turn it back on," she challenged him and Klaus pushed his head back._

 _"You would not turn it back," he said but without the same conviction as before._

 _"I would! You would make sure I would. You wouldn't force me but you would not let me pass the point of no return," she knowingly told him and Klaus nodded._

 _"I would not," he admitted._

 _"Don't allow yourself to do that either. Turn it back Klaus! Turn it back!" she insisted passionately and saw how he faltered for a moment._

 _She could see his struggle and she tried to move closer to him but the chains didn't allow it. Hope filled her heart for a moment. He was so close to turn it back on. She could see it. And if he did she would be safe. She knew she would. If he got his emotions back he would not hurt her._

 _"_ _Klaus please,"_ _she whispered in a barely audible voice. Trying to somehow touch that little chord he had left in his heart. The one that could make that emotional song start playing again._

 _"My lord we are ready to proceed."_

 _The witch's cold voice passed through Caroline and Klaus as if it was electric current. The witch with the red hair had entered the cell and was now standing behind Klaus._

 _Caroline saw with horror how Klaus' eyes lost that small spark of light that was there just a moment ago._

* * *

Caroline angrily threw the empty blood bag to the side and licked her blood stained lips.

Then she rolled her eyes at the sound of knocking on the door. Klaus' minions were now always knocking before entering. Usually they were waiting until she would tell them to enter but if she didn't respond then ten minutes later they would come back and knock again and enter either way.

It was pointless she thought. She had no rights in this place.

"Come in," she mumbled as she kept looking outside the window. The scenery expanded miles and miles offering a delusion of freedom and yet it felt so far away since she could not escape this place.

The door opened a man entered her room. Caroline narrowed her eyes. It was the first time that any man other than Klaus came into the room. Somehow this alarmed her. Maybe it because there was something unsettling on the way this man was carrying himself. He was giving her the vibe of a predator. He was tall and buff. His face was a combination of hard lines and emotionless eyes.

"Lord Klaus has requested your presence," he told her with a cold voice that brought shivers to Caroline's spine. Otherwise she would have rolled her eyes at him referring to Klaus as _Lord_.

She took a deep breath and without saying anything she got up and wore her shoes. This was what she wanted right? To meet with Klaus. To get answers.

However Klaus was so unpredictable and she didn't know what would happen next. Her heart started pounding as she carefully approached the door and as she did the man whispered an incantation and gestured for her to keep walking.

So he was either a male witch or a warlock Caroline thought realizing that he just lowered the magical barrier that kept her imprisoned in. She cautiously got out of the room and saw that two more men were waiting outside her door.

The warlock started walking in front of her and the two men walked next to her. One at her right side and one at the left. Caroline watched both of them from the corner of her eyes and realized that they were looking as threatening as the man that was walking in front of her. She tried to somehow memorize her surroundings again and see if there was any exit she could use for an escape plan but she also knew that Klaus had made sure that she would not be able to escape.

She started breathing heavily. She looked at the guards that escorted her to Klaus and wondered if she could take them in a fight. Probably not. Klaus would have made sure of that. She pressed her lips and decided to play it safe for now. Somehow she had to find a way to escape but Klaus seemed to have covered all his bases. She was even sure that there were still magical barriers around the whole estate meant to keep her trapped.

This game would have to be played in Klaus' court. If he had his emotions she would be able to get an advantage against him but now it seemed impossible. Emotionless Klaus was not to be trifled with. She had learned that lesson the hard way.

The men took her towards two massive doors that led to a staircase made of rock. It seemed to lead to a dark corridor made of stone. Caroline took a sharp intake of breath realizing that this was the same corridor Klaus had carried her in two weeks ago and she abruptly panicked and stopped walking only for the guards at each side of her to grab her by her upper arms and push her forwards.

She flinched and pushed their hands away glaring at them as she started walking again.

"Easy with the manhandling will you?" she groused faking a bravado she did not feel but her captors ignored her.

Caroline started feeling fear as she realized that they were probably taking her back to the dungeon Klaus had chained her in that night.

"Where are we going?" she carefully asked but still got no answer. All she knew was that fear was gripping her heart again. She could only hear her breath and the sound her heels were making against the stones. She looked around. This placed looked like an underground cavern. It was cold and drops of water trickled down the stone walls.

Finally they reached a wooden carved door and the man that was leading them opened it and the two men next to her grabbed her by her arms and walked her through the door. She struggled and argued in order for them to let her go but this time their hold remained.

The door behind them closed and Caroline's eyes widened when she realized that they had brought her into a…library.

Lit candles were everywhere and thousands of books were placed in beautiful wooden bookshelves that covered every surface of the stone walls.

There were also some lavish furniture; the place seemed also like a living room.

Caroline furrowed her brow at this but then her breath hitched as she saw that Klaus was waiting for her. Images of the wolf appeared in front of her eyes and she pushed them back to the deepest corners of her mind. She had to focus now.

But focusing was not an easy task. Because what somehow screamed danger more to Caroline was not the evil glimmer in Klaus' eyes or his conspicuous smirk. The danger signals inside her mind that for some reason made the hair in Caroline's neck rise were focusing on the woman that was standing next to Klaus.

She was beautiful. Tall, slender, with black shiny hair. She looked ethereal and as if she was coming out of a fashion magazine. Her gaze was intense and deep and Caroline for some reason gulped. It was as if every instinct inside her was warning her for impending danger.

Instinctively she tried to take a step back but the men that were holding her gripped her arms tighter keeping her in place.

Caroline's eyes lit with anger but the fear she felt was now permanent. Her breath hitched. She had to remain calm and to be brave. She had to.

The woman smiled at her and Caroline felt as if spiders were crawling on her skin. She looked at Klaus and realized that Klaus was inspecting her reactions with an expression that resembled glee. His callous behavior was making Caroline nauseous but the way he seemed to look at her with calculation and even lust was also making her guarded and scared. He seemed excited over this.

This was not good. This was definitely not good.

"You must be Caroline," the woman said with a melodic tone and Caroline titled her head to the side as if the air was knocked out of her.

 _Witch._

She must be a witch Caroline thought. For some reason she was sure of it. But there was something about this woman. Whenever Caroline was next to Bonnie she felt calm and a rush of power full of positive energy but now she was standing in front of a storm. An angry vindictive storm. It was making no sense but this was how she felt.

Klaus had an army of witches and warlocks in his disposal but this one seemed to be different from all the others. Somehow.

The woman approached her balancing elegantly on her expensive high heels and stood in front of her. Her eyes roaming over her form as if she was checking her out.

Then she gripped Caroline's chin and pushed her head a bit back and inspected every detail of her face.

"Oh I have heard so much about you," the woman chirped and Caroline glared at her and yanked her head away.

"You don't say," Caroline grumbled with fury.

The woman clapped her hands excited and turned around to face Klaus.

"Your ingénue is nothing less than lovely Niklaus," she praised him and Caroline huffed feeling humiliated. She was not a thing to be paraded and inspected as if she was Klaus' property. Screw this. She was tired of Klaus' games. Somehow she would make him pay. Somehow. One day.

Klaus smiled at the woman with pride and Caroline started feeling her fangs prickling her gums. She wanted to kill him!

The woman turned around to face her again.

"Let me introduce myself dear. I am Adelaide Richelieu," she cordially presented herself but Caroline said nothing. For some reason she knew that she had to keep her mouth shut because otherwise she would start screaming and she didn't know if she would ever stop. And it was not clever to push Klaus' limits; especially when this woman next to him also seemed dangerous. How did she even end up in this hell to begin with? Why was this happening to her? Oh yeah…she had caught the interest of an insane Original. Just great.

"I am here to cast a simple spell on you. Nothing to worry about," Adelaide divulged and Caroline's eyes widened in fear. She immediately turned to face Klaus that was looking at her with a satisfied smile and Caroline's eyes turned into the color of blood with purplish veins cascading on the top of her cheeks.

"Like hell you are!" she growled and struggled against the men that were holding her yelling at them to let her go.

Klaus waved his hand and the male witch that had entered her room earlier raised his hand towards Caroline's direction and gave her an aneurism.

Caroline screamed in pain but didn't stop trying to set herself free even though her knees faltered.

Klaus approached them and Caroline glared at him as blood was starting to dribble down her nose. The pain in her head was overwhelming and was making her whole body tremble in agony.

"Now now Caroline be a good girl," Klaus coaxed her amused and Caroline moaned in pain as the intensity of the spell that was still targeted against her was intensifying.

"Go to hell," Caroline spat in pain and she fell to the floor. The men were still holding her by her arms that were now stretched above her body that had kneeled down by the pain.

Klaus pushed his index finger under her chin and pushed her head up.

"No need to be rude in front of our guest love," he reprimanded her and Caroline pushed her head back as she screamed in pain.

Adelaide placed her hand on Klaus' shoulder.

"This is not necessary. Such disciplinary methods are quite anachronistic. We do not live in the middle ages anymore Niklaus," she complained with a sassy voice and for some reason that shrill echo drilled inside Caroline's ears and added to the pain.

"Unfortunately," Klaus groused and gestured to the male witch to stop giving Caroline the aneurism.

Caroline sighed in relief feeling exhausted.

"I happen to love the medieval times," Klaus jested with a wink.

"Oh I am sure. The torture was exquisite," Adelaide laughed and Klaus smirked at her. Caroline looked up at them with revulsion and incredulousness.

Klaus gave a nod to the men that were still gripping her arms and they picked Caroline up. She tried to balance on her trembling legs as she panted.

Klaus came close to Caroline and she looked at him with as much hatred she could master. Klaus snorted amused. He then gently cupped her face and his eyes dilated. Caroline felt boneless as Klaus compulsion took over.

"Caroline you will not try to leave this room until we are done and you will stop trying to avoid this. You will be a good girl and follow Adelaide's instructions until she casts the spell. You will not resist anymore," Klaus effortlessly compelled her.

"I will not resist anymore," Caroline mindlessly repeated and then blinked when Klaus eyes stopped compelling her. Her eyes filled with tears and she turned her head to the side when Klaus tried to kiss her but otherwise she didn't resist.

Klaus smiled and gave a nod to the men that were holding Caroline. They immediately let her go and she stumbled back but Klaus held her by the waist. Due to his compulsion she could not even shake his hands away. Resisting was out of the question.

"Leave us," Klaus said to the men as his hand caressed Caroline's hair tenderly.

The men left. Caroline realized this was a show of power. Everything Klaus was doing was in order to intimidate her and show her he was in control. To make her feel powerless. He was truly not just insensitive but also diabolical and she could not help but wonder how they had survived him back in Mystic Falls. Obviously his emotions were the only reason he had not demolished Mystic Falls down to the ground and them with it.

She sighed and refused to look at him. He let her go and she wiped the blood from her nose.

She could not leave the room. She was compelled to stay here and do what Klaus' witch would tell her to do. Her shoulders fell. She started trembling in fear.

Klaus leaned over until his warm breath licked her ear.

"You are my mate. Your survival is ensured," he promised her. Caroline rolled her eyes at his attempt to reassure her. As if he even cared. He was literally incapable of caring now. The picture of the wolf appeared again in her mind and all she wanted was to hug herself and burst into tears.

Klaus wrapped his hand around her waist as Adelaide got to one shelf and took out a book. Klaus led Caroline to a sofa and helped her sit there.

Caroline refused to spare him even a glance. She knew that begging him would not get her anywhere. Klaus was too far gone. The man that once upon a time looked at her with so much emotion was replaced by a monster.

He was the monster she once feared when she had first heard the legends about him from Elena. The same monster that killed Jenna and Elena in a sacrificial ritual. Only worse because that Klaus back then still had emotions. This one was the very worse version of the monster.

She would not beg.

Adelaide raised her eyes from the book she was reading and gave Caroline a polite smile.

"Drink all the blood that is on the table and then let Klaus feed you his," Adelaide instructed and Caroline sighed and reached for the gold goblet that was on the table in front of her and started drinking the blood. That thing was heavy and looked like a grail but at least the blood was B positive she thought as she drained the contents of the goblet. Klaus sat next to her and took the pitcher from the table that was filled with blood and filled the goblet again with blood up to the rim as she glared at him with venom in her eyes.

He smiled and she drank the blood feeling fear and dread. The blood was making her feel a frenzy of hunger again but the more she was drinking the more full she was feeling and at some point she felt as if she could not drink anymore but the compulsion was not allowing her to stop.

Klaus kept refilling the goblet over and over again. Her eyes had turned vampiric as she kept gulping down the warm liquid; some of it staining her chin.

When she was finally done she looked Klaus with eyes full of blackness and blood and his thumb caressed the veins underneath her eyes.

"Come here love," he invited her into his arms with a seductive voice and even though her mind screamed against it she did. The power of his compulsion was leaving her no choice. He made her sit on his lap and held her possessively but before she could feed from him her eyes grew wide as his fangs dropped and he bit her neck. She gasped. He was gentle but his werewolf venom stung. The last time he had bit her he was cruel but this time he made her moan as he sucked on her pulse point rhythmically while rocking her back and forth. He did not take much of her blood. When he gently pulled his fangs out of her skin he licked his lips pleased and placed his wrist in front of her mouth. She immediately latched on it and out of spite and anger she was not being gentle. She was mauling his flesh biting him hard and drinking him and she growled against his skin when she heard him laughing. She was amusing him and he kept stroking her hair.

"That's it love. Keep drinking," he whispered and she drank more of his blood hoping she would be able to drain him. His blood was divine and even though she was still full with blood even after his bite she wanted more and more of his blood.

However after some moments Klaus pushed her back with a slight tag on her hair and she whined in protest making him look at her with eyes full of wonder and desire. Before she could object Klaus' lips crashed on hers and the taste of blood made her go frantic against his mouth as she kissed him back with the same fervor.

She moaned as he wrapped his hands around her back and pulled her closer. She wrapped her hands around his neck and their kiss continued with teeth and tongue leaving her breathless. Somehow she recalled how the wolf's tongue felt against her skin and this made everything inside her ache in equal yearning and revulsion. What was happening to her?

Klaus ended their kiss and she panted. How could he kiss her like that and feel nothing? And why was he so set on hurting her like this? If he didn't feel anything why was he so sadistic with her?

She opened her mouth to say something but Klaus placed his finger on her lips effectively silencing her.

Her eyes filled with tears and he let her sit on the sofa and went to Adelaide. They kept talking about the spell in whispering hushing sounds and Caroline covered her face with her hands.

This could not be happening. It was a nightmare.

"Come here dear," came Adelaide's command and Caroline hated how her body responded. She got up and she could not even control her legs as they moved on their own accord. The hold of Klaus' compulsion was far more effective and powerful than Damon's ever was.

She went to Klaus and Adelaide and Klaus caressed her hair and kissed her forehead. He then put his hand at the small of her back and pointed towards a wooden long tall table with hooks on its surface that was set between candles further back in the room.

Caroline's breath hitched and she chewed her bottom lip harshly as Klaus and Adelaide led her there.

Caroline felt her anxiety taking over.

Klaus went and sat on a regal looking chair waving to his witch to proceed and Adelaide placed the book she was holding on a smaller table that was placed next to the long one. On that small table there were more things on. A bowl filled with blood. Feathers. Green leaves. Herbs. Wooden sticks. Knives.

Caroline remained silent despite her anger and panic and looked at the writings of the book. They seemed old symbols. She had seen similar ones in Bonnie's grimoire.

Adelaide set everything she wanted on that small table and then turned her attention to Caroline.

"Take off your dress and shoes," she simply said and Caroline's eyes widened as her trembling hands reached for the zipper of the dress. She closed her eyes in shame and fear and she took off the black dress she was wearing. She let it fall to the floor and she was left in her lacy revealing underwear. She could feel Klaus's eyes on her from behind and tears fell from her eyes as humiliation settled in. She also took off her shoes and awkwardly waited.

Klaus reached her and picked her up. He laid her on the long table and Caroline pressed her lips.

"No need to get up sweetheart," Klaus singsonged and Caroline felt as if her body had no will to even move anymore.

Adelaide started chanting a few words and the flames of candles around the table Klaus had put her on started flickering.

"What are you doing?" Caroline hesitantly asked Adelaide in fear but Klaus smiled contently. Caroline looked right and left in panic unable to get up because Klaus' compulsion would not let her.

"Don't mind that love. Let our lovely witch work," Klaus scolded Caroline as if she was a small insolent kid and not a woman he was about to torture. Again.

Adelaide brought ropes and she attached them on the hooks on the table. She then tightly tied Caroline's hands by the wrists on the hooks with the ropes and Caroline hissed in pain realizing that the ropes were soaked in vervain. However she did not struggle or resist at all as Klaus voice was on repeat in her mind. His compulsion lingered rendering powerless.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience Caroline," Adelaide apologized in an insincere tone as she proceeded tying her on the table.

Caroline took in a sharp agonizing breath and looked at the witch with a pained expression full of poison and so much anger that it left her breathless.

"Oh I certainly like your spirit," Adelaide complimented Caroline's glare as she kept working with the ropes making Caroline's skin sizzle.

Klaus stood on the front of the table towering over Caroline and caressing her hair. He was making soothing noises when Caroline was moaning in pain as the vervain ropes were digging in her skin.

Adelaide tied her ankles to the table too. One long rope was placed over Caroline's stomach and one against her neck. Each end tied on a hook and pulling Caroline down on the table practically tying her up on the table surface.

Tears kept falling from Caroline's eyes. Klaus leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Adelaide then took the bowl of blood and with her index and middle finger she started drawing symbols on Caroline's skin. On her arms, thighs and legs. On her cheeks and the top of her breasts. On her stomach and lower belly. On her ribs. On the back of her scalp.

Caroline's breathing picked up in trepidation. This ritual seemed extremely terrifying to her. There was already something mystical and primitive in the air.

"Niklaus. Your necklace," Adelaide requested from Klaus and he took out one of his necklaces. A silver triangle attached to a leather cord. Adelaide put the necklace and some herbs on the bowl of blood and closed her eyes. She started whispering words in Latin and soon enough the necklace started slowly immersing from the blood. It started levitating and a bright light engulfed it.

Adelaide then took the necklace and placed it on the valley between Caroline's breasts. Caroline was starting to hyperventilate in panicked breaths. The ropes were digging in her skin and all she could feel was now fear. Klaus was hovering above her head and the witch was standing next to the table mumbling words Caroline had never heard before.

"Drink up dear," Adelaide ordered and placed the bowl on Caroline's lips and titled it until Caroline started gulping down the blood. Caroline started coughing violently. There was vervain inside the blood and something else she had never tasted before. It was bitter and was making Caroline's body vibrate. The ropes kept her head and body down and Caroline kept drinking and splattering blood. The inside of throat melting from the vervain but Klaus compulsion made it impossible for her to not obey the witch's orders.

When she drank all the blood her insides burned and she felt the need to vomit; she was trying to cough and she was out of breath; she was about to pass out but Klaus bit his wrist and brought it to her lips. Caroline drank his blood and soon enough the burning sensation in her throat dissipated and she was once more healed and hyper aware.

"Please don't," she croaked scared as she saw the witch holding a ritualistic dagger in her hands.

"I am afraid this is going to hurt," Adelaide warned Caroline and Caroline clenched her eyes shut. Adelaide held the dagger tight and started carving letters and runes on top of the blood sigils she had drew on Caroline's skin previously. Caroline yelled as the sharp vervained blade sliced her skin. She felt the necklace vibrating on top of her breasts.

Adelaide dropped the dagger and raised her hands above Caroline's body. She started chanting. This time not in whispers. But in a loud voice that made Caroline's eardrums bleed.

The blood sigils were now getting seared into Caroline's open skin. There was sizzling noise. Caroline kept screaming while Klaus was caressing her hair. Caroline felt as if her skin was being torn apart. She struggled in pain against the restraints even though she was not trying to resist. Her body was convulsing from the spell. The ropes were holding her down and were digging more into her skin as her body twisted in pain. She wanted to scream to the witch and to Klaus to stop but his compulsion was not letting her do even that.

The blood sigils on her legs, wrists, belly, chest and forehead were now burning and glowing. Klaus was holding her head soothing her as she cried, telling her to be strong. All the strength she had felt from all the blood they had made her drink was now gone.

Klaus kept repeatedly biting his wrist and pushing it into Caroline's mouth again and again making sure she would hold on to consciousness and that she would survive. She kept choking on his blood that now felt like acid down her throat. It was as if the witch's spell was turning the blood into her bloodstream to hot lava. Her blood was boiling inside her veins.

Caroline screamed louder than she had ever screamed before but the witch kept yelling the incantation and Caroline howled in pain as the skin underneath the necklace that was placed on her breasts opened. Caroline yelled for the witch to stop, momentarily breaking the compulsion through the immense inhuman pain, and looked up at Klaus eyes with so much pain that for a moment she swore that she saw him staring back at her with fear.

Klaus yelled to the witch to finish the spell as blood started coming out Caroline's eyes, nose and mouth.

The blood that had stained the necklace was now slowly moving away from the necklace and was dropping inside the open wound on Caroline's body. Some of Caroline's flesh burned and smoke covered the necklace that was set on fire on top of Caroline's skin. Caroline shrieked at the unholy pain feeling the whole world shifting and shaking and burning. A black spot replaced her vision and she felt her whole body getting covered in veins and turning to stone. She was sure she was dying. She felt like she was dying and then she felt the blood sigils that were painted on her skin burn too. This was so painful and the agony crippled Caroline's body. She was being torn apart. She had never felt a torture like this before. It was as if something was carving her insides out. Klaus voice was distant now as was the voice of the witch but then the pain abruptly stopped.

Caroline sighed but she could not open her eyes. She was left breathless. She was half conscious and she felt the skin of her body stitching itself back together. Every drop of blood on her body had evaporated aside from the blood that had poured from her eyes, her ears, her nose and mouth. But all the blood that was used for the spell was now gone and even though Caroline kept her eyes closed she kept feeling as if the world would not stop turning. Klaus's hand on her hair seemed cold and heavy.

She barely heard Adelaide's voice.

"It is done," Adelaide's exhausted voice echoed. The witch gave the necklace back to Klaus and he smiled satisfied and wore it back to his neck before he kissed Caroline's hair telling that it was over.

Caroline lost consciousness realizing that he was right. It was over. Her life was over.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** I also started a new Klaroline story. It is called **_"A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night"_** and is based on the Devil/Angel mythology. It will also be a dark story. If you want to check it out you can find it in my profile here.


	10. And Now You are Mine

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

His hand covered the triangle of the pendant that hung around his neck; his eyes always locked on Caroline's form. Part of him screamed inside but once his fingers gripped the necklace the burning sensation inside him dimmed again. Caroline would be fine and she would never be able to hide from him ever again. That reassurance was enough to make his body relax and to even put his wolf momentarily at ease. Caroline would not be able to run away from him and even if she did there was no place in this earth that could hide her from him.

He didn't even flinch as he tore the vervain ropes that kept Caroline tied to the table. Her pale skin was healed but it was still tainted with blemishes. All the blood that Adelaide had used for the spell on Caroline's skin had evaporated but Caroline's face was soaked in her own blood that poured out of her nose, her eyes and mouth. A lot of blood had rushed out of her ears too. Thankfully his blood and the blood she had consumed before the ritual had helped her a lot.

Klaus compressed his lips and tried to wipe out some of the still warm blood out of Caroline's face with the wet cloth Adelaide gave him. Gently he cleaned the blood from Caroline's face as her head rolled to the side. Adelaide was trying to wipe of the blood from her own face too. She was panting and she was trying to compose herself. The spell had taken a toll on her too and she got a severe nosebleed towards the end of it. For a moment he believed that she would not be able to finish it but she came through as always and fortunately Caroline survived.

He took out his jacket and wrapped it around Caroline's battered body and called for the guards. He lifted her in his arms and her head titled to his shoulder.

He gave her to his trusted warlock and for a moment caressed her hair.

"Take her back to her room and make sure she feeds and gets a lot of rest," he ordered the man which he nodded and walked away carrying the blonde unconscious vampire in his arms.

Klaus looked at the exhausted witch at his side. She was breathing with difficulty and he smirked.

He bit his wrist for what it felt like the thousandth time today and he offered her his blood. Without any protest her lips sealed over his open wound and she sucked on his blood before his skin stitched itself back together.

She sighed in relief and stood up straightening her body.

"I think this concludes our business for today," she told him with a tired smile and Klaus brought her palm to his lips and kissed it.

"Maddox will give you the grimoire you wanted and your fee will be added to your bank account by the end of the week," he assured her and she nodded pleased and bowed her head slightly before turning around to leave.

Klaus leaned over the table and folded his arms in front of his chest contently.

"I will need you again when the full moon comes," he informed her casually and Adelaide halted. It was less than three weeks away.

She turned her head around to face him with a pensive expression.

"This will cost you more," she mentioned and Klaus shrugged. This was obviously never an issue for him.

However the witch stood silent for a moment and pivoted her whole body towards him.

"Are you sure?" she asked him. A hint of uncertainty lacing her tone for the first time.

"The girl is not a wolf Niklaus. She can't share the same mate bond as you do and what you want to do has never been recorded to known history. There was never a Crescent Vampire before," she clarified but Klaus remained silent.

Adelaide sighed. He was a clever man. He knew that this could backfire in unpredictable ways but he didn't care.

"If you keep on this path once you turn it back on she will be lost to you," she warned him with an intense look but Klaus only arched his eyebrow in a display of mockery.

"I am not paying you for delayed therapy sessions sweetheart."

Adelaide said nothing and left lost in her thoughts leaving him caressing the necklace around his neck.

Klaus looked at all the blood in the table. Caroline's blood. He flinched and immediately his hand flew to his chest. He felt spasms and his fingers tore the fabric of his shirt.

His bones cracked. His eyes turned to shade of gold and he growled keeping the scream inside. Fur started forming on his cheeks and his fangs dropped. His nails burned as they turned to claws.

Klaus used every ounce of his will to push his wolf back. Ever since the night in the dungeon it was not easy keeping the beast inside. His muscles now clenched and his wrists broke but he pushed the transformation back with an inhuman yell.

The wolf inside him wanted Caroline and no matter how much he hunted for the last two weeks he still had lapses in control. Something that had never happened to him ever since he broke the curse. He could barely hold the beast in anymore. The wolf craved Caroline. He wanted to taste her. To claim her. To mark her.

Klaus took several breaths and after a few long moments he stood still. His bone fractures healing.

He would have to wait till the full moon. After that his wolf would rest and Caroline would burn only for him.

* * *

She was back in chains. She was back in the dungeon her father had tortured her in. She was back in the cage the werewolf friends of Mason Lockwood had locked her in and made her suffer.

What was Klaus was doing to her was no different Caroline thought as she lied back on the bed in her red chiffon halter sundress and stared at the ceiling. Time was once more slowed down and replaced by counting the moments of despair she felt. Those that once upon a time were her strength trigger. But this time no matter how much she wanted to be strong she found that she was unable to find in her the will to be.

Klaus was an opponent she could not defeat. Not now that he had no emotions. Not now that he was set on torturing her every other day.

Caroline remained emotionless. Sprawled on the bed. The pain she had felt yesterday was unearthly. She had been tortured before but not to that extent. Not like this. She had no words that could describe the kind of pain she felt. The pain that still resonated in her.

She felt as if something inside her broke. And not just physically.

All she wanted was to scream and cry but she couldn't. All she could do was stare at the ceiling of her prison wondering if anyone was looking for her.

Maybe it was an irrational and insecure thought but she believed that if she was Elena Damon and Stefan would have probably found her by now. But she was not Elena Gilbert. She was Caroline Forbes and she was lost. Were they even thinking of her? Was her mother searching for her?

Caroline closed her eyes when she heard the knock on the door but otherwise she didn't respond. Ten minutes later the knocking was repeated and the door creaked open.

Caroline did not even turn her head to see who came in. She was just so tired. She was exhausted and all she wanted was to be left alone.

"Mr. Mikaelson requests your presence."

The polite voice that reached her ears belonged to one of Klaus' young witches.

"Miss Caroline please, if you would follow me," the girl gently requested again and Caroline rolled her eyes and turned around to face the witch. The girl looked like a teenager Caroline realized before she plastered a fake smile in her lips and got up.

"Since you ask so nicely," Caroline mocked and followed the witch that actually seemed uncomfortable at the acid in Caroline's attitude.

The girl had brown hair and did not look as intimidating as the witches Klaus was usually sending in her room but this was probably a disguise. Caroline didn't trust anyone in this hell. Not even one of them had good intentions. They were Klaus' pawns and dangerous and Caroline was stuck in their clutches. The young witch was walking with soundless steps leading her to wherever Klaus was and Caroline felt a rush of anxiety go through her. The last times she met Klaus she was tortured beyond belief; especially the last time. And she did not even know what that stupid spell was about. She had no idea what that horrible witch had done to her. The only thing she knew was that her body had healed and yet she still felt a little weak.

This witch however did not resemble Adelaide at all. If anything she looked shy and demure.

Eventually the girl led her to a red mahogany door and respectfully curtsied before she left. Caroline squint her eyes confused. She looked around and noticed that no one was in the corridor. If she wanted she could turn around and walk or better yet run away. Which was tempting but her rationality was not gone. She knew that Klaus had installed magic barriers all over his estate. She had nowhere to run to anyway.

Instead she cautiously reached for the handle of the door and pushed it down. She took a tentative step forward and got inside the room.

She half expected to enter to another dungeon or torture chamber but instead this place looked like an elegant mix of an office living room and a parlor. A place that demanded admiration from its visitors and for some reason Caroline was sure that this was Klaus' personal domain here. It was not an art room but it had a certain vibe about it that it did not make people only admire the luxury in awe but also feel intimated.

Everything inside the spacious room was made by carved dark rosewood. The heavy chandelier on the high ivory ceiling attracted the sunlight that streamed from the vitro window panels into its thousand crystals.

Persian carpets and the smell of polished wood. There were ceiling to floor old bookcases filled with old rare books on one side that covered the whole long wide wall and a massive traditional Venetian fireplace on the other. The carved heavy mantel - made of stone and marble - a work of art surrounding the fire that was already burning creating a soft crackling noise.

Caroline noticed the two baroque leather couches and an old French styled chaise. Paintings, pillars with chiseled engraved vines, sculptures, Victorian era crystal vases and a small hand-carved table with an old chess board with antique pieces that seemed to be centuries old at least.

A bar with a variety of drinks and deeper inside a room an old desk with Klaus sitting behind it on a velvet antique armchair. Behind him three arch windows with vitro glass giving away the view of the snowing abyss.

Klaus seemed to be studying a very old scroll while drinking blood from a golden rimmed adagio crystal glass. Books were also stacked on his desk along with many papers and maps and an old compass.

"Please sweetheart do come in," came Klaus amiable invitation and Caroline pressed her lips annoyed as she closed the door behind her with a thud.

Caroline felt weird being alone in the same room with Klaus after everything that had happened. She did not know if she was safer that way or not.

"What? No witches for the next torture session or you decided to go for it on your own this time?" she bit out unable to hold back the bitterness she felt.

Klaus leaned back to his chair. His eyes following her every move and taking in the alluring image she presented inside the red dress.

"That won't be necessary. Not anymore," he replied. His words were cryptic and Caroline's patience was already wearing thin.

Caroline huffed and folded her hands in front of her chest. Aggression was coming out of every pore of her body in waves. Hell! By now those waves had turned into a tsunami.

"Why am I here Klaus?" she demanded with an unwavering tone.

Klaus however remained calm which made Caroline even angrier. She wanted to wipe that stupid numbness away from his face. His emotionless state was not only dangerous but also grating. She would give anything right about now in order to get the irrational angry Klaus she used to know. The one that screamed and raged and had all those anger management issues that once upon a time everyone in Mystic Falls considered them to be their worst nightmare. And yet now she would give anything to get _that_ Klaus back and that said it all.

"To talk. I am sure you have many questions," Klaus told her with a nonchalant wave of his hand pointing towards one of the chairs in front of his desk.

Caroline stood still. Her continuous glare remained but she realized that she indeed needed answers.

"Fine," she relented trying to swallow down her anger. She took in a deep breath and went and sat on the regency scroll chair facing Klaus without batting an eye, "why am I _here_?" she asked him clearly enunciating the last word.

Klaus smirked and Caroline's hands turned to fists on her lap. However she did not avert her eyes.

"You are my mate. You belong by side," he simply said as if he was addressing a silly child.

Caroline closed her eyes for a moment trying to keep her frustration under control. Yeah that was not going to happen!

"Your mate? What does that even mean?" she imploded gesturing wildly with her hands.

Klaus let his fingers caress the surface of his desk slowly. He looked detached.

"It means that my nature and every instinct of mine have chosen you as my…companion. My other half. We are bound together," he informed her calmly.

Caroline's eyes widened as she jumped up from her seat.

"Like hell we are!" she yelled her fists landing on the top of the desk. The wood cracking under the assault. And she was sure that if Klaus had his emotions he would be horrified by the dents she had left on his precious antique. But Caroline did not care for any of that right now. She was seeing red.

"Don't worry love. We will talk about our mate bond in length in due time," Klaus promised in a blaze tone that made Caroline scream at him and push the papers and the books he had on his desk away. She wanted to take the table and throw it on his thick Original head. Klaus however simply leaned back with an amused expression and a raised eyebrow as papers flew around him.

"There is no bond," Caroline shouted feeling veins forming under her eyes. Her fangs prickling her gums.

"Denying it won't make it any less real," Klaus noted with an impassive tone.

"Ugh!" Caroline screamed and threw a book at him. Klaus simply moved his head to the side avoiding to get hit by the old book that broke into thousands pages that fell on the floor as Caroline started walking back and forth in front of his desk taking deep breaths trying to push her vampire features back.

"I have nothing to deny. It's stupid!" she declared and petulantly crossed her arms in front of her chest. Her stance was aggressive and she was about to attack him. She did not care if it was a fight she could not win. She just wanted to scratch him. To make him bleed. To find the chink in his armor. To just do something!

"If you say so," Klaus mocked making Caroline fume with rage, "come on now love I am sure you have more questions burning in that beautiful head of yours," he placated with a sweet voice that did nothing to sooth Caroline nerves.

He was still sitting on his chair like a King on his throne and he was so apathetic that made Caroline feel as if she was suffocating.

"What did your witch do to me?" she asked with her non bullshit tone.

"An internal locator spell," Klaus answered without missing a beat.

Caroline stilled. Her body stiffening as all the angry voices in her mind ceased.

"What?" she muttered with wide eyes.

Klaus shrugged and opened one of the desk's drawers taking out …x-ray pictures making Caroline blink.

"It is more complex than that of course but you can get the general idea," he said and offered to Caroline the x-rays.

Caroline frowned and she cautiously moved towards the desk without taking her eyes away from his. She took the pack of the x-ray pictures with a trembling hand and looked at them unable to understand what they were showing. The scans looked old. They were also showing images of bones with letters and symbols on them. Thousand symbols and shapes and runes and letters. Intertwined or clearly shaped in every bone of the body. Every bone was covered in those ancient looking symbols in their every side. In every inch.

Caroline's scanned the x-rays again and again.

"What are these?" she fearfully questioned looking at the pictures she was holding.

"These show how your bones would look if you would decide to take an x-ray right now. Or if anyone would skin you alive. Not that I would ever allow that to happen," Klaus casually drawled, his voice laced with irony and sinister charm.

Caroline's felt as if her knees were made from clay and someone just hit them with a sledgehammer.

She fell on the chair, the x-rays falling on the desk.

"I don't understand," she muttered feeling dizzy all of the sudden. She looked at Klaus with vulnerable eyes.

"Sure you do," Klaus said with a crooked smile that made Caroline feel as if someone had just stabbed her with a vervained stake straight to the heart. The mischievous glimmer in his eyes making her feel lightheaded. It was as if her vampirism had taken a seat back and her body was falling apart.

"Locator spell," she mumbled, "inside me," she whispered stunned, her hand flying on her neck. Her pulse rising. Her hand then reached for the x-rays again. She rested her palm on the black slippery material.

Klaus nodded and reality crashed down on Caroline that was now all out of breath. The realization hitting her like a punch in the stomach.

"You can find me…"

"Always. Anywhere you go," Klaus finished her sentence and Caroline looked at him horrified. She withdrew her hand from the x-rays.

She recalled the spell Adelaide did on her. She remembered the excruciating pain and the horror and now she was trying to digest this new information.

Klaus believed her to be his mate. And he had his witch cast a locator spell on her. No. Not on her. _In her_. Inside her. He had her skin sliced and her bones carved and branded. Like a supernatural tracer. He said that he could find her.

Always. Anywhere she would go… _Always._

God! She would never be free.

Klaus got up and walked around the desk. He stood in front of her and leaned on the edge of the table. Caroline looked up at him feeling as if nothing made sense anymore. She felt so lost.

"The spell is used in living creatures mostly," Klaus started. He was collected and composed while Caroline could barely utter a word now, "most vampires do not survive the procedure but Adelaide is one of a kind and you sweetheart despite your age have proven to be quite strong and resilient. The spell is permanent Caroline," he declared and Caroline looked at him with eyes filled with dread and terror.

Klaus' hand cupped her cheek but Caroline was so frozen that she didn't move even an inch. She stared at him in a daze.

"Your own blood generates it," Klaus continued, "its magic has latched on your bones, your hair, your skin, ever cell of your blood. Your own heart pumps blood _and_ the components of the magic that now thrives in you and exists because of you. Even if you were desiccated or dead the magic would still grip on your remains until you would turn to ash and even then it would still leave mystical traces," he explained, his hand slowly caressing the outline of her jaw. Slowly. Sensually.

Caroline felt tears gathering in her eyes.

"However it also creates more magic in your blood that also works as a shield. It has made you less fragile. In time you will realize that you gained a much higher tolerance for pain. And it also prevents any other spells from locating you …unless I allow it," Klaus disclosed with a warning tone that was laced with so much possession that made Caroline violently swallow down the tears she refused to shed.

Caroline realized that it was over. The world had just turned smaller. Only by a dot of distance between her and Klaus. Her whole life had just gone up in flames. Her whole future and any dreams of escape just crumbled down leaving her in rumbles. She would never be able to escape Klaus. This was a fate worse than death. It was a dreadful fate that would span throughout the ages. For eternity.

Klaus had managed to trap her for the rest of time. Literally. And there was nothing she could do. He said it was permanent and something told her that he was not lying.

There were no ways out anymore. Game over.

Even if she had been considering following Katherine Pierce's example when it came into finding a way to run away from Klaus and hide for as long as he would keep his switch off or even for the next centuries to come she was now coming to realize that it was all for nothing. Klaus had predicted this and was as always many steps ahead. He didn't mean to just trap her inside a prison. He turned the whole world into her prison.

Caroline felt sick. He could literally keep her caged for as long as he wanted inside this stupid castle or in any other hole in the world. He sure had the power and the resources and the witches to help him and even if she was to run he could still find her and drag her back.

Klaus let go of her pale face and tapped one of the necklaces he was wearing. The one Adelaide had used in the ritual. Caroline followed his movement as if she was in a trance.

"Consider the necklace as a compass and yourself as a beacon," Klaus told her, his fingers sliding over the pendant. "The necklace will forever point to you and even without it I can still activate the spell with my blood and feel you. I will always be able to find you no matter how far you would run or how much you would try to hide. There is nowhere to go and no magic can hide you from me now," he beamed at her and the satisfied tint that colored his voice sounded more like a sadistic streak to her.

"Why?" she uttered still in shock. Her voice vibrating with sadness.

"I already told you. You are my mate," he said once more as if he was pointing out the obvious.

"Ugh! Stop saying that!" she threw her chair back with so much force that it broke in pieces as it landed in the other side of the room.

She flashed away from him putting distance between them. She could not breathe.

He was out of his mind. She felt as if her whole body had become her prison now. She was hyperventilating. She wanted to push her nails to her flesh and tear it away and somehow find a way to cleanse her own bones from Klaus's intrusion. But it was not just her bones he had marked. It was every part of her body. Her blood, her skin, her organs. It was in her bloodstream. It was everywhere. The spell he had forced on her body was his own personal brand on her as if she was cattle or something.

He had violated her in an unimaginable way. She was going to lose her mind. She had already lost her freedom and Klaus had managed to take hold even of her body and shape it into a device that would keep her bound by his side forever. A connection, an immortal manacle.

She had never felt such horror before. Not ever. This was worse than compulsion. Her mind was trying to find alternatives. Solutions. But she could find none. Klaus had limited her options to…none. Her mind had gone blank. She felt as there were no answers left. Only dead ends.

"As you wish," Klaus complied with an even tone. That kind of insensitivity was making everything a thousand times worse. She could not even reason with him.

"It is impossible," she stammered swaying on her legs.

She felt Klaus coming near her. The hair in the back of her neck rose. She didn't need to turn around. She could feel him standing behind her. His eyes on her.

'It really isn't sweetheart," he cooed as he hovered over her. His head dipping to the crook of her neck. His fingers sliding over her shoulder.

Caroline turned around, her fangs on display. Klaus smiled at her feral appearance and Caroline slapped him as hard as she could. She heard his jaw breaking. But Klaus remained unconcerned. He simply turned his pleased gaze back at her fury. His tongue slowly licking the drop of blood that escaped from his torn lip.

She pushed him again and again and he only smiled. She felt heat on her eyes mixing with the blood that swirled in them. Tears glistening inside the blackness that took over her human features bringing the monster forth. He stood there taking her hits without budging. Had she been hitting anyone else with so much force she would have send them flying away meters away or would have split them apart.

But not Klaus. He was unmovable and it was as if he was been hit by a feather. He was taking in her anger as if it was nothing but a harmless child's tantrum for him. If anything she seemed to be entertaining him.

At some point he caught her hands on his grip. She tried to shake his hands away but he was holding her tight.

"You have lost your mind!" she screamed at him and he raised an eyebrow at her, "I feel nothing! Shouldn't your mate crap go both ways? I am not even a werewolf!" she hollered trying to somehow wrench her hands away from his. She tried to bite him but Klaus twirled her around and her back crashed against his solid chest. He pushed both of her wrists in his palm a painful grip holding her in place as his other hand pushed her hair away from her face. His lips ghosting over her ear sending goosebumps all over her body. He was smelling her fear and anger. The vein of her pulse thundering as she struggled to escape from his hold to no avail. His hot breath against her skin was creating tingles of unwanted excitement in her body as she heaved against him.

"Neither am I," he reminded her, his teeth biting her earlobe gently making her struggle more in his hands. She could not release her wrists from the steely manacle that his hand was, "I am a Hybrid. A wolf and a vampire love," his murmur a seduction that made her close her eyes as she tried to push him back. However he kept her close to his body. Her backside pressed against his hips. Flashes from how he fucked her coming back at her. What was happening to her? Why was her body betraying her like this? The only thing she should feel for him should be repulsion and yet the monster inside her seemed to crave his touch.

Klaus wrapped his free hand around her waist. His mouth resting against her heated cheek. Her vampire features dissolving. Her lips parting as she turned her head to the side refusing to accept his touch.

"It is not that farfetched that my wolf side that coexists with my vampire one would also be attracted to vampirism as much as lycanthropy," he purred making her whole body tremble. She stopped fighting and leaned back at him hoping that he would let her go. She could not think clearly like this. "And you love, like it or not, once I broken my curse have made quite an impression," he whispered luring her in, "I guess after a thousand years of trying to break my curse I should have known that for every strength gained there will always be a weakness to balance it… You are it," he sighed with a tantalizing barely audible voice that made her melt against his body more.

"That does not make me your mate," she protested in a weak tone, "it just makes you more insane and obsessed with me. You are nothing to…me," she muttered in a way that sounded unconvincing even to her ears.

"Ah yes," Klaus's chest shook with laughter against her back jarring both of their bodies, "because you have never felt anything for me right?" he taunted. His accent enticing and annoying at the same time.

Caroline tried to get away from him again and this time her let her. She turned around and glowered at him. She pressed her lips and Klaus chuckled. A hollow laughter full of mirth but otherwise lifeless.

"In any case your feelings are irrelevant here. This is my story not yours Caroline. It always has been," he concluded bluntly making Caroline snort.

"Emotions or not you still remain delusional."

Her contempt shining in her gaze. In response Klaus' lips curved to a nefarious smile that brought chills to Caroline's rigid spine.

"And yet here we are. Here _you_ are. There's no escape sweetheart. Not now, not in a thousand years from now. You belong to me," he casually laughed. This was a joke to him. An amusement.

The Klaus she once knew respected her autonomy. He never wanted to break her. This man in front of her was a stranger. More than just an enemy. He was her worst horror. An emotionless tornado that wanted to destroy her.

"I am not a thing to belong to anyone but myself," she coldly spat and Klaus gave her sarcastic gaze in return.

"And yet all evidence point to the contrary," he singsonged and Caroline gritted her teeth.

"Screw you!" she cursed and her fist flew towards his face but Klaus caught it midair.

"I think you have covered that part quite marvelously sweetheart," he drawled kissing her fist with a mocking salute.

Caroline looked at him repulsed before she yanked her hand away.

She walked closer noticing how Klaus' eyes narrowed as if he was trying to predict her next move.

"You were right. You managed to make me hate you. I hate you Klaus," she honestly professed feeling a knot forming in her throat. Her emotions pulsating between them both.

Klaus nodded at that making her eyes slit suspiciously at him.

"I know," he admitted calmly. It was a fact and they both knew it. Klaus just did not care anymore. And this was hurting Caroline even more.

Back when they were in the dungeon before he turned into a wolf both of them knew that he would either turn it back on or he would continue with his plans and assure that he would forever lose his humanity.

Klaus knew that Caroline would never forgive him for that and it was done. One more reason for his actions back then was that he did want to keep his emotions at bay and turning into a wolf and risking Caroline's life like that was his assurance that he would never turn it back on. And he was right. After everything that happened it was a done deal. He knew that if he ever dared to switch his emotions back on her would have to face Caroline's hatred and that was a line that his old self would never want to cross over.

Caroline let out a heart wrenching whimper that a few months ago would have made him run to her aid. He would have not been able to resist her pain and despair. But now he just watched silently unperturbed by her misery.

He saw how she went and sat on the chair in front of the fireplace. How she pushed her face in her hands mumbling over and over again how this was a nightmare.

"This can't be happening," Caroline muttered under her breath.

Klaus titled his head to the side examining her reactions. Without his emotions her display was at times boring and at other amusing. As long as she was physically safe he was content with having her by his side but he would also prefer her to be sexually allured by him instead of whining all the time.

So he went and poured some scotch in two glasses and went to her.

"Sometimes I forget how young you are sweetheart," he mused and offered her the one drink.

Caroline raised her gaze at him and gave him a venomous glare. He stared at her with an intense stare, his arm still extended offering her the alcohol he knew she needed.

Caroline snatched the glass from his hand and drank the scotch in one go hissing at the burning sensation in her throat.

Klaus looked impressed and gave her the other drink too. She looked at him with a skeptical expression but took what he gave her nonetheless. This time she took a sip while Klaus sat to the chair that was facing hers.

"You are still new to surprises," he said coolly, "time has not taught you yet of the things you can do and of all the …impossible things…that will happen to you. Give it some time and you will come to realize that there are only but a few things that cannot happen for and to people like us," he told her as he gazed into the fire. Memories of the value of a thousand years swirling their experience inside his mind, "people like us shape the world and attract all of its beauty _and_ its darkness. The word impossible simply does not exist anymore."

Caroline sipped more of her drink feeling empty inside. The alcohol had no taste left for her.

"If that is true then it should not be impossible for me to get away from you," she grit out scornfully.

Klaus leaned back and gave her a challenging gaze.

"If only you were strong enough to defy me little vampire," he gloated. His amusement surpassing even his mockery but then he simply smirked and his eyes scrutinized Caroline from head to toe.

"You played my distraction for so long beautiful Caroline. How did you think this was going to end? You played with fire always provoking an Original. Always tempting me. You knew who I was," he reminded her and Caroline grimaced.

"This…" she hissed pointing her finger at him "is not who you are," she told him with revulsion clearly separating in her mind his current emotionless predicament with his past behavior from when she knew him back in her home town.

"Is that what you think?" he asked her intrigued. The darkness in the cadence of his voice blooming in his query.

Caroline nodded and then Klaus threw his head back and laughed.

"Oh the things you still don't know love," he said chuckling and Caroline shook her head disappointed.

"You have lost your emotions not your mind Klaus," Caroline tried to reason with him as she set her glass down.

Klaus looked at her with an arched brow.

"This won't last. No matter how many spells you have your minions cast at me. My friends will find me eventually," she warned him and Klaus gave her an incredulous look of hilarity.

"You are not Elena love," he pointed out with delight "your…friends do not care," Klaus taunted creating more seeds of doubt inside her mind and heart. Caroline's insecurities were rising again as memories of always being second best to Elena awoke once more. Klaus had separated her from her entire life very easily and she was stuck with him in the far ends of the world probably. Even if her friends cared Klaus was able to outsmart them all.

But a nagging voice inside her head agreed with Klaus. Rationally she knew he was playing with her mind but she also knew that she had been collateral damage way to many times in her life so far.

Klaus' seemed to be able to read her thoughts on that matter. He sat more comfortably in his chair and Caroline squirmed in hers.

"And let us say for argument's sake that your so called…friends pretend you the doppelganger," he jested relishing in her haunted gaze "and all distraught move heaven and earth to find you. What then?" he asked her with a knowing look that made Caroline gulp down violently.

Klaus pushed his elbows against his knees leaning over forward. His gaze turning lethal. His smile invoking danger and Caroline felt as if something had sucked the air out of the room.

"How will they get you back?" he smoothly formed his question that was voiced with a supposedly innocent tint that turned Caroline's blood to ice.

"They mean nothing to me love," he simply affirmed what they both knew while the threat in his eyes travelled up and down her body, "I will even put their heads on pikes outside your window for you to see every morning you wake up," he promised and Caroline felt as if she was about to vomit. He was being honest and Caroline realized that if she was to protect her friends she would have to somehow hold them back from Klaus. He had no restraints anymore.

Klaus then dismissed Caroline's wary look with a wave of his hand giving her a whiplash.

"Let us not duel on nonsense anymore. We have more important things to talk about," Klaus disregarded their argument with a jovial expression making Caroline look at him with dread, "like our future," he suggested with a husky temptation in the depth of his allurement that jarred Caroline. He was trying to seduce her after abusing her and threatening to behead her friends and torture her with their deaths?

"No. No no! Have I mentioned no?" she refused him aggravated, "there is no such thing as _our_ future," she spat hoping that their supposed mate bond would be able to restrain Klaus from taking off _her_ head.

Klaus beamed at her denial and got up. Caroline pushed herself more against her chair giving him an exasperated glare when he knelt in front of her chair placing his palms on her tense knees.

"And yet it has already begun," he noted, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction and Caroline's lips compressed into a thin line.

Klaus got up and offered her his hand. Caroline looked at his waiting palm as if he was holding a grenade.

Klaus though was acting as if he was a gentleman with impeccable manner ready to woo his beloved. Caroline rolled her eyes and slapped his hand away annoyed. Klaus smirked and grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her up.

Caroline struggled a bit but Klaus simply got her to the chaise and made her sit there. Before she could react he had sat next to her. She tried to get up but Klaus pushed her to the back of the sofa blocking her exit with his body.

Caroline looked at him carefully. He was sitting too close for her comfort. And she felt all those menacing vibes his body was emanating. She was trapped and she felt that if she tried to push him off she would be trapped into an even more uncomfortable and compromising position. She was already half lying on the chaise. And Klaus had already proved that he could make her submit to him. His strength alone was overwhelming and he had already compelled three times so far.

"Let us get the ground rules laid out and out of the way shall we?" Klaus proposed letting his finger create patterns over her thigh. Sliding over the hem of her sundress making her muscles clench. Caroline held her breath and waited. From the corner of her eye she was already trying to find what she could use inside the room to fend him off. She didn't believe he would attack her but somehow she felt an alarming sense of doom.

"So since I will forever sense where you are there is no need for any more magical boundaries to keep you confined. I have already ordered my witches to take down the barriers from your room and the estate. Of course as you can already understand there is no point in running away," Klaus told her and Caroline's eyes widened. She was not expecting this. Although she knew that he was right. He had won. She had nowhere to run to. And yet she half expected him to keep her under lock and key.

"What is it that you want exactly Klaus," she asked him. Her voice not wavering a bit. Her gaze locked with his.

Klaus nodded pleased with her.

"I will make you a deal," he offered and leaned forward even more. He had invaded her personal space. His scent was overwhelming her. Klaus knew how to play this game. To play mental games. To make her feel like his prey even when they were sitting still.

"A few years with me. A few years on your own. I will teach you how to be a vampire," he told her with a dark gleam in his eyes.

Caroline opened his mouth to say something but Klaus moved his index finger to her lips cutting her off.

She breathed heaving but closed her mouth and waited to see where exactly he was getting at.

"When we are together there will be no more resisting from your side. Obedience. Loyalty. Acceptance. Everything I say goes. Everything I want I get," he warned her and Caroline titled her chin up in defiance. Her whole being already fighting back even in silence. Klaus noticed that and titled his head to the side with a pensive expression.

Tension rose between them. Then Caroline noticed how his jaw clenched and felt how his fingers gripped her knee harshly.

"If you try to make me turn it back on I will kill everyone you've ever met. Everyone you ever loved. Starting with your mother," he decreed and Caroline gasped. Fear consuming her whole before rage threatened to cloud her better judgment once more.

But even like that she knew that she was walking on a thin rope right now. She had to be careful. She had to use her mind and make the best out of this screwed up situation. She had to find a weakness to explore or to stall somehow and first and foremost to protect those she loved.

The moment Klaus threatened her mother was the moment Caroline realized that she had to play it smart and to make sure that no matter what she would be able to protect her mom.

Klaus was a force of nature and now he was blindly driven by his instincts and nothing else. She had to use their connection somehow. If not their emotional one then his belief in their mate bond. She had to use that in her favor.

She looked at him. Thousands of voices bouncing inside her mind trying to find a way out of this mess. She had to prioritize. The safety of those she loved above her own. Her survival above her freedom. Her knowledge of what Klaus told her before her need for vengeance. Her belief that she could do this before her hatred for him.

She could do this. She had to do this. And yet Klaus was not kidding anymore. She had to play in his court now. He had not left her any other option anyway.

"You can either accept my terms and have a resemblance of freedom or decline and then I will simply lock you away sweetheart and use your body at will whenever I feel like it. Leaving you locked away in solidarity and confinement for decades or centuries even, only to return to claim you whenever my physical need for you arises again," Klaus crudely offered his terms in a deal that seemed more like him condemning her to slavery than him actually giving her options. She had to turn this around.

"It really is your choice," Klaus pressured her for an answer. His fingers travelling up and down her thigh ready to pounce on her. She was sure that should she accept his terms the first thing he was going to do was prove his dominance over her by fucking her right now on this chaise. She could see it in his stance. In his eyes.

She felt her heart beating wildly against her ribcage and she was certain Klaus was enjoying the very same erratic drumming sound of her terrified heartbeat.

"You are really leaving me no choice," she protested.

' _Think Caroline'_ she kept repeating inside her mind. _'You have to think! Think damn it! Play him in his own game. How? Think!'_

"I guess I am not," he admitted with a sardonic smile and moved closer to her, his body almost covering hers, "What do you say Caroline?" he pushed more ready to celebrate his victory.

A gaze of determination passed through Caroline eyes.

' _So be it'_ she thought.

All or nothing.

"No."

Klaus narrowed his eyes not expecting this answer.

"What did you say?" he asked her slowly and Caroline smiled at him. This time it was her smile that was dangerous. She pushed her body up until her lips were almost touching his. Her eyes full of challenge.

"No." Her gaze filled with resolve and fearlessness. Her voice holding steel in its echo.

"No?" Klaus asked again like a broken record. His incredulous gaze making Caroline wonder how he could feel surprise if he felt nothing at all.

Maybe this was a way to bring him back she thought. He was an Original. Surprise should not be something he should be accustomed to …anymore.

Yes Klaus threatened to kill her mother if she ever tried to bring him back which made Caroline shudder even at the possibility of his threat coming to life but that would only happen if she were to fail. If she somehow managed to make him turn it back on then she would be able to reason with him and hold him back and maybe she could make him turn it back on gradually without him noticing it. It was a longshot and she needed to think more about it but there had to be a way.

For now however she had to make him bend. He wanted her to break. She just wanting him to bend a little while convincing him that she was already broken to a degree. It would be the only way this could work.

"No," she repeated again boldly.

Klaus's hand curled around her neck. A slick movement ready to turn to brutality. A calculated threat.

"You do not want to do this sweetheart," he warned her.

Caroline smile grew wider. The fact that he was trying to bully her by leaving his suave threats behind was already a small win. She could do this. She stretched her neck against his hold slowly, her eyes on him.

"I think I am calling your bluff," she dared refusing to flinch as he pushed her back to the pillows of chaise, his grip on her neck becoming tighter by the minute.

"I have no emotions love. I do not care for bluffing or lying. I am simply effective," he reminded her and she shrugged.

"Emotions or not you are lying. And you are playing games."

Caroline placed her palm on his wrist and waited for him to withdraw his hand from her throat. She looked at him with conviction. If he was merciless then she could be ruthless and if he was unstoppable then she would be unmovable.

Klaus examined her face and pulled his hand back. He was tense. He was trying to calculate the danger she was presenting. And she could see that this was an ice cold calculation.

Caroline knew now that she had to push but to be also careful. He could still make good on his threat and lock her away to waste in a cage for as long as he wished while still taking from her what he wanted. He could still compel her, he could still torture her, he could still force her. But even in this emotionless state Caroline could see that he still enjoyed the challenge. His mind was still as sharp as ever and his ways have not changed that much. His perspective was different. More cruel and inhumane but his core was still the same. He was the trickster and the puppeteer and once upon a time he had told her that they were the same. So she had to find a way to pull his strings. She just had to find the right strings to pull otherwise Klaus would wrap strings around her neck and choke her with them.

"Everything you say is a whole load of bullshit. Even now. You go on and on about being unemotional but I would not be here if you were. Completely at least," Caroline told him with a knowing look.

Klaus looked at her unimpressed.

"Is that what you think? Because it is actually the other way around," he said to her with an unconcerned tone.

His hands wrapped around her waist and in a swift move that even her vampire instincts were too slow to comprehend he had her straddling him. She yelped and held on from his shoulders. Her thighs tightening against his legs.

This was too intimate but his vacant gaze made Caroline feel cold.

"You being my mate is actually convenient. The bond we share. I can use it to sublimate. I can use the energy you create in my wolf and exchange it for any emotional need my brain and body actually needs," he explained and Caroline listened carefully to what he was saying.

She bit her lip taking in this new information. If this was true then he could use his wolf to keep his emotions at bay indefinitely. Logically every being needed emotions to function. Even if an emotionless vampire bottled up the emotions the humanity switch hindered sooner or later those feelings would return with a vengeance because it was part of everyone's nature. The emotions would sooner or later bleed back in. But Klaus' wolf had no emotional switch. So if Klaus could channel what his wolf was feeling then he could balance out his lack of humanity.

That was not good. That was not good at all. Caroline swallowed down harshly as Klaus' hands pressed against her back bringing her closer. The friction between their bodies turning both of them on as Klaus hands slid lower making her blush.

"And to the off chance that sooner or later you will turn it back on even by accident? What then? Can you live knowing what you did to me? What you are doing to me?" she persisted and before Klaus could answer she cupped his cheeks with her hands and kissed him.

Klaus immediately responded, his tongue dancing with hers. His hands on her hips were pulling her closer as her hands kept stroking his stumble while her lips moved against his.

She felt his erection throbbing against her thigh and she bit back a moan.

She pulled back all breathless. She saw the lust in his eyes. Well at least she could still use their sexual attraction to her advantage. And if what he was saying was true and his wolf considered her to be his mate then this attraction could be more demanding for him than for her. She still remembered how his wolf acted in the dungeon. He wanted her. Even the animal wanted her. And Klaus' vampire side also wanted her. It was a start.

"Even the night you compelled me to feed and have sex with you. You based the compulsion on _my_ desires. Your loophole in case you even come back; when you could have simply compelled me to do whatever you wished," she reminded him, her breathing labored as his hands travelled up and down her back possessively.

"I still can," he threatened. His forehead touching hers. His need for her multiplying. Caroline knew she was counting seconds before he would snap and they would end up naked on the floor.

Ironically having sex with him was the part she did not mind. She could use that part and she could draw power from that part of their relationship.

"Then do it," Caroline challenged him looking straight into his eyes internally praying that he would not, "you can't can you?," she softly realized as Klaus stood still and did nothing, "what is even the point of offering me a deal to begin with when you can simply me compel me to do what you want?"

Klaus gaze darkened and Caroline held her breath. She held his face in her hands. She trembled and hoped.

"Because you know that in our world. Nothing is written in stone. I won't try to make you turn it back on," he lied to him so convincingly that surprised even herself, "but you also know that you could switch your humanity back on your own eventually…one way or another…you don't me to tell you that sublimating can only take you so far…It could take you centuries… hell even centuries upon centuries but you could …you _will_ turn it back on and then you will lose me forever," she vowed and she could swear she saw the ghost of an emotion flash through his eyes. Maybe he was not so lost as he made her think he was.

"What makes you think that even with my emotions I would care?" he muttered under his breath.

Caroline smiled and her body relaxed for the first time in weeks.

"See…this is how I know that you _are_ lying," she told him, this time her eyes the ones that shone with amusement, "you do care. You want me and you are in love with me even if you do not feel this right now. We both know it. Plus I am your mate right?" she pressured him a little bit more before she grew serious again.

"You know I thought you were a monster before. Even with your emotions on," she honestly confessed and Klaus snorted.

"And there I thought we were becoming friends."

Caroline ignored his irony and looked at him with pity.

"But seeing you like this. The man you were was capable of kindness. He could make me laugh and smile. He was able of being gentle and compassionate and caring even when he was at his worst. You were lashing out but you still cared. In your own perverse twisted way for sure but you cared Klaus. You cared!" she insisted with so much fervor and she felt Klaus' body tensing against hers. She held on to him tightly trying to make him understand. Trying to make him come back to her. It was not too late. If only he could see that.

"Enough Caroline."

Klaus shook his head and pushed her away. He got up and Caroline felt her frustration rising.

"If you do not have any emotions why do you care for what I say right now?" she reasoned with him. Klaus did not turn to face her.

She followed him and placed her hand on his shoulder gently. She did not try to make him turn at her. She was trying to become the whisperer and tame him. She had to be careful.

"Because it still hurts doesn't it? Somehow deep down it still burns. To know that another person…one you could love and you probably already wanted to love… saw past your façade. Past your pain. Your anger. Your evil ways," she whispered and Klaus stepped away from her. Her hand falling to the side.

"But it was not enough," he stated. It was not an accusation. He was far gone for that. It was a fact he was simply stating.

"It could have been," Caroline whispered honestly this time more to herself than him. Her eyes looking at the floor.

Klaus turned to face her but she didn't raise her gaze to meet his.

"And now it never will."

For a moment Caroline hesitated. His statement a burning question for her.

All of their past clashing together with their present. Everything Klaus had done. The good and the bad. The promise and the violence. The hope and the pain. Everything became a struggle for Caroline and a question she could not answer. Even after everything he had to done to her she could not answer. Because she hated him now but she also hated how much she wanted to bring him back because she knew that she didn't hate the person he used to be. She should have hated even the old Klaus. She knew she should. She had tried to so hard in the past. But she couldn't. And the Klaus that was now standing in front of her was not whole. He was broken. She could see that. It was not an excuse for his behavior but it was also part of their nature. She had the humanity switch too. She could break like him too and she knew that if Klaus was in his right mind should she ever fall over the abyss he would be one of the first people to try and pull her out.

She didn't doubt that. And it was funny that she could doubt the loyalty and the commitment of her friends but she could not doubt the truth of what Klaus felt for her in the past when he could still feel.

Time stopped moving before she looked up at him again.

"But if it could?" she dug into that untapped place of hope she knew that still existed somewhere inside him still,"…even if the chances are less than one in a million…you can destroy every chance right here, right now," she told him and Klaus stared at him impassively.

This was it. She had to make her move now.

She titled her chin up and her gaze burned.

"So I am going to offer you a new deal. Either accept it or imprison me to whatever dungeon you have," she threw at him. Her courage her only lifeline she could still hold on to.

Klaus seemed to be searching to find a weakness in her stance. But she had none. It was all or nothing for her now. Either she would win some breathing room or she would lose everything.

"I am listening," Klaus prompted her to play her card and Caroline nodded.

"You are an Original and you are much stronger than me and I am not Katherine nor would I ever would want to become like her," she accepted and Klaus hummed.

Caroline took in a deep breath and then did what she always did best. She challenged him.

"Even without the spell your witch cast on me you would be able to come after me and find me either way; and we both know that you can keep me by your side one way or another. There is nowhere for me to run," she came to terms with the inevitability of her fate, "so the part you say about giving me my freedom from times to times in exchange for staying by your side for another period of time either…long or short…that I will take," she brazenly declared and Klaus actually smiled at her cheeky expression.

"Of course you will," he smirked, "Go on."

Caroline steeled herself and approached him while standing her ground.

"What I refuse to do is become your slave or sex toy. I will not follow your commands as if I am your dog or possession," he spat with indignation and Klaus looked at her with a smile that resembled pride even though they both knew that her reckless valor did not mean anything. Klaus could give and take anything he wanted and she was allowed to play this game for as long as it amused him and for as long as he allowed.

But Caroline also knew that she was good at playing this game. And if she played it right she could even turn the tables on him.

"You said you wanted to teach me how to be a vampire. Then teach me. I will stay by your side. We can have all the sex you want and I can and will follow your lead… _within reason_ ," she clarified stressing this part out, "but you will not threaten my friends and family again," she resolutely said, "we will find ways to compromise for as long as I am with you. That way I will stay on my own free will Klaus and not out of fear. Either this will be consensual with me having some say on what happens next or it won't happen at all. Take it or leave it," she offered and waited with baited breath trying to not convey any weakness for him to explore.

Klaus's eyes were locked on her face trying to find even a twitch of fear or uncertainty and then his gaze roamed over her body with appreciation.

Caroline stood there taking in his inspection while not allowing any vulnerability to hinder her resolve. She knew that Klaus was able to smell any fear or hesitation and if he would then he would crash her. So even though this was the hardest thing she had even done in her life…she showed none.

"Interesting," he pondered.

Klaus went back to the bar and made himself another drink. Caroline waited wishing for this stupid standstill to be over and done with.

"Emotions or not you do intrigue me Caroline. I will admit this," he revealed and took a sip from his drink.

He then prowled closer and starting walking in circles around her. Slowly. This made her feel uncomfortable. It was as if she was a commodity he was checking out. Counting the pros and cons of her. Deciding if she would be a good investment of not. This made her feel cheap and humiliated but she endured it. She had to. If she was to have even a chance at this she had to. She could not gain anything from Klaus without submitting to him and his desires first. At least up to a point. Some you win and some you lose. And she already knew what she had to lose and she only hoped that she could be able to survive the loss.

"And believe it or not I do not want to break your spirit," Klaus told her and then smiled at her. A smile that made her feel as if he was about to make this even more difficult and challenging. And emotions or not he wouldn't be Klaus if he didn't. That much she knew.

"So how about another deal all together," he enigmatically suggested and Caroline's gaze turned cautious.

"I am listening" she threw the same words he had used back at him and Klaus seemed to enjoy her brazen attitude and her courageous spirit even though he knew that she also knew that she was in a precarious position and in a disadvantage and yet it thrilled him that she was still fighting him. It was the best entertainment her could ask for and it kept his mind on edge.

"In that case….how about you working for me instead?" came his new proposition.

" _What?"_

Caroline didn't seem to expect that. She looked at him half confused half offended and he chuckled.

"I like the way you think love but I am not asking to pay for your sexual services," he chuckled and Caroline looked at him with a fury that delighted him. He drank the rest of his drink and licked his lips appreciatively. Even without his emotions he could still enjoy this girl's fire. She was so young. She was made of energy and fire. Intellectually she was a challenge for him and in his unemotional state he could appreciate her sharp mind and cleverness even more. She was proud and stubborn and she believed she could outmaneuver him in his own chess game while he owned the board and all the pawns. She was a pawn that had potential to become more of that and she was acknowledging it. Had she been against any other opponent he would probably be betting on her to be honest.

"As you have seen I have a network of witches, warlocks and vampires working for me. You had gotten only but a glimpse of that network when I first came to Mystic Falls for the ritual and you can even see it now in a bigger extent. So how about you become one my assistants then?" he explained and Caroline frowned.

"So instead of a sex slave you want me to become your… minion?" she wondered looking insulted and Klaus' chest rumbled with laughter.

"Of course not. Minions are doormats and I would never send you to get my clothes from the cleaners," he winked at her and Caroline rolled her eyes at him. For a moment both of them caught up in the moment acting like they used too.

"You will still be my mate. We will still keep a sexual relationship," he drawled and noticed how Caroline fidgeted with the thin belt of her dress for a moment, "but you will also be my associate. Once I train you of course," he clarified and Caroline's uncertainty was evident in the way she was looking at him. He could see that she was thinking and analyzing every outcome of accepting or refusing his offer.

"I will be giving your assignments from time to time," he told her casually pushing his hands inside the pockets of his trousers.

"In exchange?" she questioned, her guard up.

"Depending on the task we will be seeing about the reward" he said being vague about it.

Caroline stood silent. He could see that she was not sure about this. He approached her and pushed an errand strand of blond hair away from her face. Caroline following the move of his hand with wary eyes.

"While I have a say on those…assignments?" she questioned and Klaus arched his brow.

"You may have a veto in accepting a mission if you present me a good case of why you believe that you should not participate in it. But other than that no. You will be following orders either by me or depending on the hierarchy of command as it will be created depending on the mission and the team. You will not always work solo," he said and Caroline stiffened.

"What kind of missions?" she asked with a concerned voice. Anxiety consuming her.

"Spying. Going undercover. Being a mole. Gathering intelligence. Retrieving objects I desire. Safely delivering packages. Being a hired gun. Sending messages to my allies or… my enemies. Kidnapping people. Using any kind of leverage in any way I ask you to. Interrogating prisoners. Research. Acting as security for certain people. Mercenary work. Mingling with the supernatural world in different capacity depending on the case. It could be anything really," Klaus shrugged and Caroline looked at him with wide eyes full of wonder and apprehension. He couldn't be serious could he?

'Will you be asking me to kill puppies too?" she glared.

"If they are needed for a necessary spell…sure," he offhandedly quipped and Caroline huffed miffed.

"But I expect loyalty and efficiency Caroline," he warned her with his baritone voice and noticed how Caroline swallowed down hard, "no questions asked. No sentimental attachments. The missions you will be getting will solely be a business transaction. If you are good at what you do you in time you will be able to ask for the price you want as a fee. But I will have no objections from your part or you second guessing me. For the assignments you will follow not my just commands but my orders. Blindly and obediently. You will work for me and will be treated as anyone else in your place would be treated if you should fail. No room for mistakes or second thoughts." he demanded. His tone not wavering. His eyes full of cruelty.

Caroline looked up at him. Her sullen expression was calculating and cautious at the same time.

"And you won't hurt those I care for?" she asked expecting a guarantee from him.

He nodded and held her chin between his thumb and index finger.

"I won't even mention them again but neither will you. No more ties holding you back."

Caroline knew that this was not a request. He didn't have to even mention what he would do if she didn't obey him on this. But the idea of paying this price was a heavy weight upon her soul. She would have to cut ties. That would be the best way to protect the people she cared for but that did not mean it was hurting any less. She would not be able to see her mom and her friends. She would not be able to talk to them or even speak their names. She would have to pretend they didn't exist and she didn't even know how long Klaus would make her stay away from them and even when he would supposedly let her be on her own; it would also hurt her to get back to the people she loved and then to have to part from them again and return to the perverse way of life Klaus was offering. And even like that she still didn't know if it would a good thing to return to them and give ammunition to Klaus to hurt her. He was not stable and Caroline didn't trust that she would even be free from him even when he would supposedly allow her to spend some time away from him. He would certainly keep tabs on her. He was a possessive control freak after all and he was paranoid about betrayal even now. He would always be her shadow.

Klaus pushed her hair behind her ears and she shuddered. The more she was trying to keep her tears at bay the more her eyes burned.

"Don't look so glum love. Not only you will gain a lot from our deal but I will still be giving you the respite of a few years. In that time of our separation you will be free to lead your life in any way you wish. As long as there are no actions or thoughts of betraying me."

"Of course," Caroline could not stop her sarcasm from taking life.

His warning about betrayal proved her right. She was right not to trust him. She had to stay away from those that she loved. Probably forever or at least until Klaus would turn his humanity back on. And even if he did Caroline could not be certain how he would react not to mention it could take years for him to turn his emotions back. Maybe even decades. Her mother could be dead by then. She could lose the only years she could spend with her mom.

"In those times you will be free to have …friends family whatever catches your fancy," Klaus continued taunting her and acting as if he was magnanimous in his mercy.

He let his hands caress her arms up and down until he gripped her by the shoulders and brought her closer to him.

"But when you are with me there will be nothing else. No one else for you," his obsession making Caroline cringe in his hands, "our sexual relationship will be separate from your duties as one of my hired and hopefully –eventually- one of my most trusted vampires," he ensured and his head dipped down. His blunt teeth biting her shoulder sensually.

"Be efficient, earn my trust and the rewards will be far greater than you could ever imagine," he promised and Caroline took a sharp intake of breath when she felt his fangs scratching her skin without breaking it, "fail me and there will be consequences."

Caroline stared at the gold that filled the blue of his irises when he straightened his body and towered over her.

"And of course sex will be part of the whole transaction," she retaliated with a grimace of detest.

"Or course. You are my mate after all," his tone was condescending.

She pushed him away and hugged her torso with her hugs. The loneliness and sorrow she felt was making her body turn cold.

"I hate that word," she mumbled peeved.

"Sure you do," Klaus mocked and Caroline glowered at him.

"As you hate my touch?"

His patronizing sarcasm really irked her and she didn't dignify him with an answer. She tensed when Klaus flashed them over to one of the bookcases trapping her body against it. He grinded his body against hers and pinned her hands to each side of her body.

Caroline glared at him even and squirmed when she felt his knee parting her legs. The friction of his body over hers was making her skin tingle.

"I do not need to add this _clause_ to our deal. Something tells me that having sex with me is not that unpleasant or abhorrent for you," he teased her; his taunt a poison for her ears and pride.

Caroline gave him her best 'as if' scoff but when his lips trailed her jaw she felt breathless and tried not to moan. Her stupid vampire hormones that always made her horny were killing her right now and Klaus was using all his experience when it came to seduction to good use.

She tried to move away but he pinned her hands with his over her head while his other hand played with the one strap of her dress.

"You looked so uncomfortable that night in the woods," he provoked ironically, his hand gliding down and slowly pushing the skirt of her dress up skimming her thigh. His lips travelled down her neck and with every erratic breath she was taking she was feeling the muscles of his chest press more against her heaving breasts. Klaus sucked on her throbbing vein of her pulse and Caroline felt her legs turning to rubber.

The blood that was surging right underneath the surface was roaring as Klaus' teeth turned sharp over the fragile texture of the thin flesh. He was not breaking skin but she felt the sting of his poison on her skin threatening to send its cancer in her bloodstream; all the pain just a bite away, all the pleasure already a breath too close.

Klaus' tongue slowly lapped the stinging sensation away as it let its velvet caress the column of her neck making Caroline throw her head back seeing lights ignite underneath her closed eyelids.

There was something about him that was turning danger to need. She knew that he felt nothing but her body felt everything.

"You compelled me," she protested with a weak voice and bit her lip drawing blood as his fingers started creating abstract patterns on her inner thigh. Heat pooled between her legs, her arousal blooming for both of them to smell. The scent of the blood that dripped down her chin turning Klaus' eyes to gold.

"You said it before love…compelled to follow _your_ desire," his whisper was sexy, his stubble was scratching her skin.

She tried to find some balance but Klaus raised his head and cupped her chin between his fingers. She opened her glassy eyes to only see him give her a sly smile as his tongue licked the blood that had dripped on the side of her lip. Her breath hitched.

"And you did," he reminded her smugly but before she could protest his nose skimmed her cheek so tenderly that if she closed her eyes she could pretend that inside Klaus roared a pool of emotion instead of coldness, "remember sweetheart how your body gripped me in? How you lost your breath, your control?" he let his whisper engulf her in temptation and lust. Flashes of memory from their night bloomed between them. Caroline's resolve dissolving more and more. Her carnal needs taking over.

Klaus' warm palm lifted her leg and hitched it around his hip. She pulled him closer to her using her calf. It was such a contrast. Her skin had always carried a certain coldness ever since she was turned but Klaus' body was always warm. It must have been a wolf thing but a simple touch and Caroline could always feel the heat that poured from his skin. It was like electricity and it was reminding her how it felt when she was alive.

"How you chanted my name. How you came with me blood in your mouth, your teeth seethed in my flesh? Your body trembled and shuddered… _you_ came undone."

He grinded his knee against her heated core and her eyes snapped open. A web of vampire colors shaping veins underneath her bloodshot eyes.

"So did you," she darkly gasped and Klaus' lips touched hers. He was not moving his lips on hers. He was not kissing her. He was only staring at her. His palms flat beneath the curve of her breasts holding her up as she gripped the nape of neck with her nails trying to support herself. His knee was brushing against the fire that was burning between her legs. She wanted more. She wanted to scream. She wanted him.

"Oh yes love. I did. We both did," he said, his lips speaking the words on top of her own.

And when she leaned closer he let her go abruptly.

She almost fell and heaved feeling all of her instincts on edge. Her body unsated, her longings unbound and unfulfilled. The loss of his body making her angry and frustrated to the point of madness. She had to close her eyes and will herself to turn her face back to normal.

Klaus left her unsatisfied and with the need to start cursing. She clenched her legs feeling the need to scream and Klaus' smirk over her sexual frustration was turning her vexation to outrage. He was enjoying this. But she could tell he was not as calm or as much in control as he pretended to be. His body was tense, his own desire obvious and hard for her eyes to see.

Her brow furrowed on her forehead when she noticed that the gold in his eyes refused to shimmer down. She leaned against the bookcase feeling the absence of his body in ways she could not describe. It was not love. It was not passion. It was not emotion. It was worse.

It was pure physical need. It was not about making love. It was about fucking. They both knew it and they both wanted it. Damn it she wanted it! Her body demanded it. She could not forget nor forgive Klaus' abuse but her body was singing a different tune. She wanted to feel him on her skin and to take him inside her again. That night in the woods, despite of how it was initiated, felt like a drug and she wanted to see how it would feel again.

But it was not just about Klaus and wanting Klaus. No. Ever since that night in the woods her need for sex and for killing had multiplied. Klaus knew it and was taking advantage of it. But that did not change how she felt. She had dreams about them fucking and dreams about her drinking from the vein and killing her victims like she had with the girl on the woods. It was turning to a physical unrelenting need and she was scared that part of Klaus' deal would include her learning to kill and enjoy killing. And the vampire inside her was thrilled about it. She could not deny she had a monster screaming to get out and play. A monster she had kept at bay for a long time making it starve for what Klaus would prompt it and force it to do.

It was scary to think that a part of her craved the sex and the bloodbath and the lust and the carnage and another part of hers despite every sense of morality was ready to sacrifice anyone that would come between her and her mother's safety. She would kill thousands if it meant saving her mother. If it meant saving herself.

This did not make her any better than Klaus. She didn't have the excuse of not having her emotions and she was ready to manipulate and kill and destroy in order to achieve her endgame. And she was afraid that she would have to and she would. She remembered what Klaus said he would ask from her once he would transform her practically to one of his minions. She would be a Klaus follower if not a groupie. So killing and destroying for him would become a reality.

Caroline's looked at Klaus with a gaze that went aflame with hate and need. How could she hate someone so much and yet physically desire him with the same intensity. It was maddening.

Klaus snickered and opened his hands wide. His theatrical ways still a part of him.

"You are mine love. The sooner you come to terms with it the better and if I am here playing nice with you is only because you have proven to be entertaining and a vampire with potential. If anything I can now appreciate that potential more and put it to good use."

Caroline grimaced at his words and she slammed her hands down her dress trying to straighten imaginary wrinkles on the flawless soft fabric as she mentally regrouped.

"I feel so accomplished now," she sneered blowing away the hair that fell on her face and Klaus gave her a dimpled smile in return.

"You should," he arrogantly fired back and Caroline gave him a fake smile.

"Part of you is excited about this," he noticed and Caroline looked at him incredulously.

"Remember when I told you that you have lost your emotions and not your mind? I take it back! You are insane!"

Klaus mockingly put his hand on top of his chest pretending to be offended and surprised by her accusation and then he pointed between her and him with his finger.

"The best of us usually are," he jested and Caroline rolled her eyes.

Klaus gave her his trademark smirk and she wanted nothing more than to wipe that stupid sneer from his face with her punches.

"That pretty little monster that lurks inside your shadows wants me Caroline. You can try to deny it but we both know it is true. And my emotionless state right now gives you all the excuses you need in order to give in to this desire by pretending that you are not really doing so. Hate me as much as your heart desires; it is still _your heart_ that plays the tune you deep down love to sing," he bluntly told her seeing right through her and Caroline's lips compressed to an angry line.

Klaus gestured dismissively then.

"But since we are aiming for honesty. Working for me and becoming one of my trusted vampires means that you will change. So if by the off chance I do turn my emotions back you will no longer be able to look down at me from your little moral high horse. You won't be the virtuous good vampire and no pedestals will have you on top… You will be just like me," he let his promise rise like a shadow around her. A promise so dark and so black like the colors of a rotting coffin's closing lid.

She scowled at that feeling; she knew he was probably right and it felt as if she was stumbling over a chasm that would send her straight to hell.

Klaus' voice haunted her mind turning to her path to the flaming pits.

' _You will be like me…we are the same Caroline'_

And she knew that once she would cross the event horizon there would be no turning back. And the worst part was that if it meant saving her mom and surviving she didn't even care.

"Is that a challenge?" she threw a dirty look at him and he beamed.

"Are you in for it?" he challenged her and she narrowed her eyes with determination and acceptance.

Knowing all too well that accepting this new life with Klaus would be her personal reckoning. She was standing in the precipice of the abyss with no stars left to guide her any more. Only fire surrounding her and consuming her. Ready to swallow her whole.

So she would have to turn herself into a firestorm to survive. She would persevere one way or another. This was war and she would fight. Klaus was right after all. She was a vampire and she had a lot to learn if she was ever going to have the chance to defeat him; she had to learn the ways of war. To stand a fighting chance. And who better to teach her than the very best? Than Klaus himself?

Game on.

"Anything to prove you wrong," she agreed taking her first step towards the point of no return.

Klaus looked at her like the cat that had just ate the canary and she only hoped that this cat would choke on the feathers he wanted to ruffle.

' _Deep down_ , _you long to have your_ _perfect_ _feathers ruffled_.'

Silas words echoed inside her mind; the most treacherous part of her making her doubt to as if she was doing this only in order to survive and to win Klaus in his own game.

' _Part of you is excited about this'_ Klaus had said. Was he right?

"Excellent," Klaus smiled widely accepting the challenge and came close to her taking her hand and kissing her knuckles, his tongue teasing the skin between two fingers leaving her breathless, "we have ourselves a deal love."

She dipped her head in affirmation and Klaus grinned at her acceptance.

He then swiftly pulled her at him by the hand he was still holding. His movement so sudden that she stumbled on him, this lips almost touching.

"One more thing. If you try to trick me in any way or break our deal I will make sure that the punishment will be…spectacular," he swore and at the menace that reflected in his gleam she felt drops of sweat running down her spine, "and then… I will keep you under lock and key for the rest of your eternity. And your torture won't be just physical," he assured making her blood turn to ice, "you will live for the rest of your immortal life knowing you are responsible for the ….death of everyone you have ever met."

His unholy vow engulfed her in dread as his lips crashed on hers.


	11. Fanning the Flame

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Non con themes, torture.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 _ **Spain. North of Seville.**_

 _ **Year 1700.**_

 _Klaus grunted as his hips gave a few more thrusts until finally the orgasm shook his body. His fangs slipped in the witch's neck when her legs that were wrapped around his waist squeezed him hard and he drank his fill as the body of his lover underneath him gave into spasms until she screamed her release. Her fingers gripped his long hair and she moaned slowly coming down of her high while his tongue lapped the bloody wound that her magic soon healed._

 _Klaus rolled over to his side and leaned back at the wooden headboard of the bed. Sweat ran down his body and his hair, wet and heavy, stuck on his neck. He hated the wretched heat of Spain and he almost rolled his eyes at the soft satisfied purr of the woman that snuggled closer to him until she rested her head on his chest. Instead of letting any sound of complaint however he let his fingers dive into her long black locks and massage the nape of her neck slowly drawing circles on her sweaty back._

 _She might be a witch but she was still a human and for a human Klaus had to admit that Ruve Adelaide d'Amboise Richelieu had quite the stamina._

 _Adelaide, as she preferred to be called, was one of the best witches he had in his retinue and it would be a pity to lose the advantage of such an ally because he had grown tired of her in bed. For gaining access to her witchcraft skills he did not mind fucking her and occasionally throwing her crumbs of intimacy. He had after all came to the realization that witches were far less dangerous and much more prone of be of use if he charmed and bedded them than torture them and behead them._

" _What is on your mind?" Adelaide's voice invaded his thoughts and their eyes met for a moment before he sat up and let go of her._

" _I can feel him," Klaus growled with a snide tone and Adelaide did not need to ask who 'him' was. The Mikaelsons only evoked one name with such animosity and dread._

 _Klaus could feel him coming closer. It was like a sixth sense of his to feel danger and the only thing that could even remotely resemble danger for him and his siblings was no one else than Mikael._

" _The witches and their cursed spirits aid him to his quest against us," Klaus said but the deceptive silk of his tone could not veil the menace that lingered in his voice._

 _Adelaide lazily stretched next to Klaus and got up from the bed letting her tousled hair fall on her back. Not minding her nudity she walked barefoot towards the wine carafe and poured the strong red liquid into two glasses._

" _There could be a way to severe the connection Mikael has with the witches of the other side," Adelaide pondered out loud and Klaus watched her curiously but said nothing. Instead he waited for her to unravel whatever wicked plan she had been crafting in her mind._

 _Adelaide approached him, swaying her hips seductively and gave him the one glass with a smile. Klaus took it, his gaze locked with hers._

" _What do you know about New Orleans?" she asked him and Klaus gulped down his wine with a disgusted eye roll._

" _It's a swamp," he mumbled with a dismissive flick of his head and Adelaide sipped her wine slowly. Klaus did not miss the mischief in her eyes._

" _Have you ever wondered why progress never reached that so called swamp?" she questioned with a suggestive look._

 _Klaus let his glass on the floor next to the bed and took her glass from her hands and put it to the floor too._

 _He was getting tired of Adelaide's games. Swiftly he gripped her hips and pulled her on his lap._

 _Adelaide giggled as she straddled him._

" _Superstition and stupidity?" Klaus played along as he ran down his palms over her breasts making sure to graze her pebbled nipples with his nails._

" _More like common sense," Adelaide stuttered as her passion was renewed under Klaus' expert hands. She gripped his hand and pushed it between her legs until it covered her wet folds._

" _The witches of New Orleans and their covens are paying homage to the old ways," she breathed out hard as Klaus fingered her, "they are guarding the entrances not allowing anyone they don't want to set roots," she panted and Klaus only hummed as he pushed the head of his cock into her dripping hole enticing the answer out of her._

 _Adelaide threw her head back allowing her body to bask to the delicious friction. Klaus hands roamed over her back bringing her closer. Her breasts crashed with his chest and Klaus softly bit her ear. He nibbled and sucked the sensitive skin letting the tip of his tongue swirl at the spot behind her ear that always turned her weak with need._

" _Do you know what makes the New Orleans witches different from every other witch in the world Niklaus?" Adelaide whispered breathlessly and bounced up and down on his cock moaning and heaving and Klaus held her tight from the hips as he titled his head up so to face her._

 _He gasped._

 _Her eyes were different. Her face was not the same. Her scent overwhelmed him and his desire became real. The black hair of the sultry witch turned to a golden halo and he felt fur starting to cover his cheeks and his claws came out. He could not speak. He could only howl. His golden eyes stared back at the green eyes._

" _Necromancy for one," Caroline whispered and the darkness in her eyes made him still._

* * *

Klaus eyes snapped open and his fangs dropped. He looked at the sleeping blonde next to him and inhaled in her scent. The soft thrumming of her heart blocked out everything else and Klaus pressed his naked body over Caroline's silky nude skin. The only thing that drove him now was pure undiluted instinct and his dreams were battling his waking emotionless moments. The only thing that he actually felt was the wolf and the only thing that could keep the dreams and the emotions at bay was Caroline's body trapped in his claws. He noticed how his claws had come out and how his fingers were disfigured, broken at the joints. His knuckles were deformed and his skin twisted. He was starting to transform.

Caroline's backside was pressed against him and his cock strained with need against her thigh. Her body had turned luminescent under the pale moonlight that surged through the windows' stalactites.

Klaus' arms were wrapped around Caroline's waist and even in his sleeping state his wolf could not harm her. Anyone else would have been torn to pieces by now but Caroline did not even have a scratch on her. He had scratched her a few nights ago and before he could restrain himself he had leaned over and he had kissed those scratches away and her whimpering was still resonating in his mind; since that night his claws still touched and satisfied his wolf's primitive needs for connection but never broke Caroline's skin again even though a part of his ached to do so.

The only thing he truly wanted more than anything else was to fuck her right now but the veins that crisscrossed underneath his eyes and the poison that sizzled at the edge of his fangs were a danger he could not afford to ignore. He was barely able to keep in the monster these days and letting go could potentially be a death warrant for Caroline and above any animalistic desire that clouded his judgment he knew that he had to keep her physically safe. She was his mate. His wolf's only one. His only one. Any emotion that could still bleed from the animal to his switch only focused on her.

He soundlessly got up and looked at Caroline's body on his bed. He knew that one of reasons his wolf was becoming so erratic and out of control was the pity he felt for her. But his mind was able to overcome those pathetic animal gut feelings that urged him to stop doing what he had been doing to her for the last weeks.

He could not stop because she had still long ways to go. She was not a wolf. She was a vampire and one that needed to sharpen her inner skills.

Caroline was undergoing constant training sessions and even though her resilience was impressive she was still weak and her general awareness was pathetic. She could not detect danger and she was not as alert as she should be. Proof was that she was now out like a light while even the slightest change of the wind around her should be a warning signal she should respond to. The girl had pushed down her vampirism for so long and that simply would not do. Not for the plans he had for her. The origins of her rebirth into a night creature in Mystic Falls had practically defanged her despite her obvious potential.

He realized that even without his emotions he did not want her to become a ripper but it was a pathetic sight to see vampires so much removed from their true element.

Caroline was his mate but her survival could not only rely to him and his protection but also to her ability to protect herself and for that he had to make her strong. His wolf objected to her pain but even like that Klaus knew that there was no other way and maybe exactly because he knew that he was able to contain his wolf. Albeit it was a difficult task that was draining all of his energy.

He pulled up his pants and got out of the room leaving a sleeping Caroline behind.

When he soundlessly closed the door he beckoned with his finger at one of the witches that stood guard to come closer.

"You know what to do," Klaus gave the order with no emotion and flashed away as the witch nodded.

He had already given strict orders to his witches when it came to Caroline's training. Her survival was not an issue but pain was a tool that in time would sharpen Caroline's senses and reactions.

For the last weeks Caroline was able to get some sleep only when he called her in his room and lied on the bed with her. They were not having sex but he liked feeling her skin pressed against his and despite her initial abhorrence and indignation over the peculiar situation that was leaving her horny, unsatisfied and with a feeling of being used, Caroline came to appreciate the stolen moments of sleep she could get out of this since their everyday training sessions always left her exhausted enough to let herself sleep in his arms.

But that was not lasting long and this was one of the reasons Caroline was afraid to fall asleep lately. Once she would fall asleep Klaus would also go for a run in the woods leaving his witches and warlocks to wake up Caroline with painful spells and aneurisms.

Being so close to her soothed the wolf inside him only for a few hours and then the burning need to claim her arose again but Klaus wanted their first mating to be perfect. It would be the only way to keep the wolf permanently under control. When they had sex for the first time his wolf felt the mating bond but was not awakened to the calling yet. Now he was and Klaus knew that he needed their first mating fuck to create further bonds between him and his mate but Caroline was not a wolf and his wolf would turn insane by that since she would not be able to feel the mating bond as he would. So magic had to come in to compensate for that natural diversity and for that he had to wait for the full moon and Adelaide; but having Caroline so close was testing his control and his wolf was struggling trying to be let out of the mortal binds. Klaus managed to trick the animal in him by limited physical skin on skin connection with Caroline but after that the heat was coming back and so every night he was scouring the mountains in his Hybrid and wolf form howling at the moon.

Every sleepless night he went for a run to get out some steam and relished in hunting the human prisoners he was letting loose in the woods before dawn.

The killings were clearing his mind and in the meantime Caroline was getting a rough wake up call and her training continued uninterrupted.

Lack of sleep along with frequent conditioning to pain and building up a defense mechanism while coming to instinctually sense the presence of intruders was something Klaus had done himself centuries ago when he was running away from Mikael. He had undergone the same training if not a harsher version of it. The only way to feel danger coming was to always be alert and on his toes and to get used to it and for that he had understood the need to train himself and to become accustomed to mental and physical suffering and to surprise attacks.

And now it was Caroline's turn. Ever since she agreed to work for him they had started her training and at first Caroline had been horrified by the intensity and cruelty of his lessons but she was starting to come to terms with them and her current situation. She didn't realize it yet but by the time he would be done with her she would be magnificent. A thousand times stronger. A creature so fierce that he would be able to appreciate fully.

But for now she was left in the throes of agony and helplessness. Something that her creator should have taught her a long time ago but Damon Salvatore was a pitiful excuse of a Sire and Stefan Salvatore had managed to clip Caroline's wings with his martyr complex and his pro human lessons. Now Klaus was left to pick up the pieces and correct those misguided attempts to put her vampire on a leash which was not an easy thing to do since Caroline was stubborn and stuck in her old ways. He had to give her credit. She was putting up quite a fight and she was trying to hold on to her old morality.

Klaus was certain that if he had his emotions on and was trying to train Caroline he would have burned everything around them to the ground out of frustration. As far as vampirism went Caroline was damaged and ineffectual. He aimed to correct that. And his emotionless state was making him a much more effective mentor.

Klaus rolled his shoulders and cracked his head to the right and left waiting to hear Caroline's bloodcurdling screams.

His witches were stealthy and so far they were always able to enter Caroline's room without waking her up despite her heightened senses. After that they were making her submit to pain until she would bleed and they would exit the room only when she was awakened all breathless, squirming and quivering. All hungry and in pain. If Caroline managed to fall asleep again –mostly due to exhaustion- his witches were letting her relax for less than twenty minutes before they would repeat the process all over again and then again and again making Caroline screams echo in the silence of the night.

And that was the earsplitting sound that reached Klaus' ears right now as he ran so far that the wind whipped his face and his feet felt the burn of the snow with their every inhuman leap.

He laughed and allowed the feeling of freedom to wash down the burning desire of the wolf that wailed at the sounds of Caroline's anguish.

* * *

Sunlight streamed into the study when Caroline entered the room carrying with her her unique earthly scent pronounced with the aroma of jasmines and violets. It was a seductively sweet fragrance and Klaus felt his temperature rise. Ever since those years ago when he had entered her room to heal her from the bite he had ordered Tyler Lockwood to give her it was her scent that remained with him. It followed him in his dreams and nightmares and even into his oblivion. Having Caroline being so close to him now was overwhelming.

It was messing his senses and was aggressively calling out the wolf. Over the past three days he had almost changed into a wolf by accident more than twice. It took all the self-restraint he had developed throughout the ages to contain his inner wolf and stop the change. The pull their mating bond had on him was stronger than the calling of the moon. His wolf wanted Caroline and Klaus knew that had to claim her in the next full moon. Otherwise he would be unable to control his metamorphosis and not only he would wreak havoc to the world but he was not sure if he would be able to turn back to his human form. Unfortunately he had to wait for more than a week for the ritual to take place and that only meant abstinence from any sexual desire he had concerning Caroline. He had to exercise all of his control and patience. He was not weak. He could do it. And in a few days he would finally let go.

He closed his eyes and almost hummed out his arousal as Caroline came closer and then he steeled himself and looked at the pale sun that had risen on the sky. Soon. The full moon was only days away he thought. Soon he would be able to finally give in to his nature and have Caroline Forbes in all the ways he wanted without holding back.

But until then he would have to settle for touching her skin and breathing her in.

"You called. I am here."

Klaus lips curved into a smirk of malice when the bitterness in her tone reached his eyes.

Caroline was growing impatient and frustrated. Her training was a trying experience and as it was expected Caroline was not taking it well since for now it only included pain and constant failures from her part.

Klaus turned around and pushed his hands behind his back taking in the picture she presented. He had made sure that she would barely sleep but he also made sure to keep her bloodlust high. For the past two weeks Caroline was digesting the minimum dosage of blood that would keep her from desiccating but would not build up her strength. She had to get used to such conditions and she had to get stronger in her state of weakness. It was the only way for her to increase her control and discipline over her instincts. However until she would be able to achieve that kind of mentality and restraint he was left with a bad tempered and irritable young vampire. It was funny really. Especially at how Caroline would always glare and curse at him when he was teaching her fighting techniques where she always landed on her back over the snow with broken bones that could not heal fast because of the blood and sleep deprivation.

Klaus smirked and Caroline glowered at him. The black circles under her eyes were more pronounced on her extremely pale skin. So pale that he could trace with his eyes all the rivulets of blue veins under her fragile flesh.

"Good morning sweetheart. How was your night?" he teased and Caroline gave him her most venomous glare. He shrugged and went to his desk. He picked up the stereo's remote control and pressed play. The sound of classical music filled the air and Caroline winced. The sound was grating to her ears. She was so tired that any noise made her cringe. And the light from the windows was blinding her and made her eyes water.

"Vivaldi. Four seasons. Winter," he informed her and Caroline rolled her eyes at his civil tone.

"What musical instruments can you play sweetheart?" he asked in a casual tone faking interest.

"The piano," she tiredly answered and Klaus raised his eyebrow.

"I would love to see your performance," he said intrigued and Caroline could not stop her eyes from rolling.

"So you should know about coordination and keeping up the right tempo," Klaus mused but Caroline said nothing.

"How about violin?" he asked and Caroline shook her head negatively.

"We will have to rectify this," he told her with a wink and Caroline tried not to huff. Sure. Her tormentor wanted to also teach her how to play the violin. Because obviously torture was not the only part of his education system. He was such an asshole and she wanted to scream but it was pointless. She had no ways escape and Klaus had completely lost it.

"Violin produces such an alluring sound. But only if the violinist knows how to yield the instrument correctly. It is all about control you see. Strict discipline. And talent," he counted and Caroline tried to keep her calm. His demeanor was threating. It was falsely calm and that scared her even more. In the last weeks she had learned his new tells now that he had no emotions and she could already tell that she would not like what was about to follow next.

"You disagree?" Klaus questioned and Caroline glowered at him telling him with her eyes that she found his stupid bubbling pointless and he chuckled.

"I see you are silent today. That is good," he jested and raised his finger on the air indicating the pleasure he felt from the sound of music, "classical music is all about balance. The right tones one can only appreciate only if he drowns in the sound and listens to nothing else," he commented in a light murmur and Caroline frowned. She didn't like where this was going.

Klaus came closer to her and she almost flinched but refused to show him weakness.

Klaus took a stray blonde strand in his hand and twirled it around his finger.

"I'll tell you what. If you manage to keep your control I will give you the day off. No exercises for today. No surprises. No pain," he purred and Caroline stared up at him. Despite her common sense hope bloomed inside her. She knew that he was playing with her. It was a trap. But the promise of a respite from all the pain was something she could ignore.

"What say you sweetheart? Ready to give it a shot?" he taunted and Caroline bit her lower lip unsurely.

"What do I have to do?" she asked him cautiously and Klaus beamed at her.

"Keep your hunger at bay," he simply said and let go of her hair. He then brought his wrist to his mouth and tore the skin with his fangs.

His bright yellow orbs focused on Caroline's hungry gaze as he pushed his bleeding wound under her nose.

"Take a bite love," he drawled and Caroline felt her mouth salivating. Tears sprang in her eyes. Her body shook. She tried to remember Stefan's teachings. To push the hunger down. To breathe. To hold on to something and to not give in to the bloodlust. But she was so hungry.

Klaus blood was the most intoxicating substance she had ever tasted. And she was starving. She knew that he had won when the veins appeared in her eyes almost instantly.

She moaned and before she could control herself she sank her teeth to his bleeding wrist. She knew that this meant new rounds of torture but she did not care. The taste of his blood was incredible. She gripped his hand with her fingers and desperately gulped his blood down wanting to drain him. To suck him dry. She was savage and Klaus's free hand caressed her hair as she gave in to the hunger and the lust. It was so sensational that arousal surged in her lower belly freeing its tantalizing scent between her legs and her hunger became carnal lust also.

She closed her eyes and she felt her strength returning. His blood swirled in her tongue. It was like honey coming down in velvety waves. It was warm. It was luscious and she savored the taste.

She tried to attack him in a frenzy when he withdrew his hand but he only laughed and wrapped his fingers at her neck holding her back. She snapped her teeth at him and growled.

"Such a pity," Klaus mocked and the ice in his voice turned her hunger to despair. She shook in his painful grip and Klaus effortlessly pushed her away. It was so obvious to her how strong he truly was. The Original Hybrid. She stumbled back and blood poured out of her mouth. She tried to gulp it down and not let a drop go to waste.

She forced her fangs to disappear and looked at Klaus with repulsion. He was cleaning his wrist with a handkerchief nonplussed and Caroline felt the kind of desperation that could drive a person mad. She was almost tempted to turn it off but she knew that this would be Klaus' ultimate victory and she did not want him to give him that satisfaction.

"It looks we will keep to the schedule after all," Klaus unemotionally noticed and Caroline felt the sting of fresh tears in her eyes.

Klaus eyes roamed up and down her form appreciatively. His blood had helped. Her strength was replenished. Color had returned to her cheeks and her hair had found their missing glow. Her lips were pink again and stained with his blood. Her skin looked healthy and smooth. Too bad that this would not last for long.

"That is a nice dress sweetheart. No point in ruining it. Take it off," he unconcernedly gestured and Caroline gritted her teeth. Humiliation rose in her heart but she was would not allow Klaus to install that feeling into her.

She confidently reached for the hem of her dress and pulled it up over her head. She took the dress of and stood in front of him dressed only in her lacy underwear. Every night Klaus was touching her body and they were then falling on his bed naked. She was not self-conscious or anything but he had managed to take her body autonomy away. Damon had raped her in the past. She remembered that agony all too well but even those memories seemed more merciful in comparison with what Klaus was doing to her know. Because she had never felt anything for Damon and she had managed to shield parts of herself from him. Klaus was leaving her with nothing. He was raping her mind and abusing her body. He was breaking her by destroying every piece of her. He was making her feel dirty.

She saw desire in his eyes even now and she straightened her back feeling revolted and wondered why a part of her still wanted him. There were moments when he was lying next to her at nights that she wanted to seek comfort from him. To relax and pretend that she was in loving arms. That she was safe and warm and loved. And in those moments desire was always growing. Klaus had managed to sharpen her vampire instincts with hunger and pain in the past few weeks. There were moments that she was more of a vampire than she was Caroline. And in those moments she was horny as hell. She wanted sex and blood and instant gratification and Klaus had made sure that he would be the only one to give those things to her. She was out of options and she only wanted to have mind blowing hot sex. Her body wanted _him_.

Klaus prowled closer and Caroline held her breath. He stood behind her and pushed her hair to her right side revealing her other shoulder and the left side of her neck. His finger grazed her spine making shivers run and up down her skin and his lips softly touched her exposed neck. Caroline heaved and trembled.

Klaus kissed her neck softly and gently pushed her forward. They stopped moving when they had reached the windows. She looked outside. The snowy mountains. Klaus had told her that he had taken to the Altai mountains near Russia. She was facing the cliffs of the Belukha Mountain which according to Klaus it was a hotspot of mystical magic. Klaus true to his word had confirmed that he had lowered the barriers that kept her trapped in since the internal locator spell in her made it impossible for her to escape him but his estate was still covered with an invincibility cloaking spell that allowed no human eye or even any kind of technology to detect the castle and the grounds around it. They were hidden from the world.

Klaus had not only snatched her from Mystic Falls but he had taken to the other side of the freaking world! Literally! She was so far away from her home and her old life and the locator spell he had cast in her made sure that she would never be able to go back. Klaus would always know.

"Open the windows love," he prompted and there was something really unsettling in his tone. She glanced down at her exposed body but opened the glass framed doors with trembling hands. The ice cold wind immediately rushed in and brought even snowflakes along with the freezing sensation. Caroline felt as if needles poked her skin and even though she could not feel the cold now that she was fed again she still felt the contradiction with the heat that ran in her bloodstream after drinking Klaus' blood.

She felt Klaus's hands grip her waist and she stilled. He pressed his chest against her back and Caroline tried to focus on the sunlight above the wilderness in the horizon.

And then Klaus hand travelled up and down her arm and his fingers reached for her daylight ring and much to her horror she realized what he was going to do.

"No," she stuttered and tried to get away but he wrapped his other hand around her waist immobilizing her and keeping her in place despite her struggle.

"Don't do this," she pled with him as he grabbed her fingers and squeezed them. Slowly pushing her daylight ring down on her index finger.

Klaus whispered a soothing cooing sound in her ear. Telling her to not be afraid. She knew that he was not going to kill her but he was about to set her in fire. Literally. He could not do this to her!

"I suggest to keep still and since I am really fond of Vivaldi I do want to appreciate his magnificence in silence so try to keep the noise to a minimum. Not even a whimper Caroline. Unless you want this exercise to continue until sunset," he warned her and he wrapped his fingers around her ring while still keeping her body in front of the window.

"Klaus stop!" she shrieked begging him but he held her in place and then he wretched the ring out of her finger and stepped back.

Caroline screamed. A shrill scream that burned her throat as her skin burst into fire. She tried to run away but Klaus blocked her way and pushed her back to the light. There was no escape. Time stretched and she wailed in pain falling down and trying to shield herself from the light with her hands that the sun burned. The rays of sun touched her skin that was not protected by magic against the sunlight anymore. It scorched her. The pain was inhuman. Her lapis lazuli ring was in Klaus' hands and her flesh melted consumed by flames. The pain was excruciating and she flashed away deeper into the room reaching for the shade next to the fireplace.

"Come back here Caroline," Klaus ordered in a detached tone as Caroline felt her skin stitching itself back together. It was painful.

"I can't do this, I can't!" she cried when Klaus reached for her and tried to pull her up. His grip on her elbow was firm and Caroline tried to push him away.

"Please Klaus stop!" she implored and it was the first time after he had started training her that she begged him to stop. Klaus sighed in boredom and he let her go; she immediately flashed away and scrambled to the darkest corner of the room away from the punishing sunlight. Fear consumed her whole. She had stood in front of the sun for only a few seconds but it was agonizing. She was almost incinerated. Her flesh boiled and parts of it fell from the bone. The worst thing she had ever felt in her whole life. Her father had burned her in the past when he tortured her when he found out she was a vampire but he always stopped when her skin sizzled and smoked. He never let her skin catch on fire. But Klaus did not care. She had burned in front of him. She had smelled her skin roasting and melting and she had felt it stick on her bones as fire caressed her body.

Klaus rolled his eyes and closed the drapes. Caroline sighed in relief as darkness prevailed and the room was once more protected from sunlight. She pressed herself against the wall and wiped away her tears. She covered herself trying to shield her exposed tingling body. Her underwear had also caught on fire. She looked at Klaus with so much hate that she felt as if she was about to burst into flames again. She hated being so weak but she could not help it.

"You barely lasted seconds sweetheart," Klaus told her indifferently and twirled her ring in his fingers.

"This is not training. This is torture!" she shouted at him and felt more tears gather in her eyes.

"This is being able to tolerate amounts of pain," Klaus dismissed her easily and Caroline felt the need to punch him.

"Easy for you to say," she hissed accusing him, "the sun does not burn you anymore and it sure as hell can't kill you."

"I don't want you to die," Klaus assured her with a shrug of his shoulders, "not ever," he seriously added and walked closer, "this is why we are doing this. Being able to withstand pain will make your stronger. Physically and mentally."

Caroline rolled her eyes. He was insane.

"The only thing it'll do is give me nightmares for the rest of my life," she retaliated and Klaus smirked.

He went over to the fireplace and crouched down. He turned his head looking straight into her eyes as he put his hand in the fire.

Caroline eyes widened but Klaus did not even flinch. His hand was burning. She could smell his skin roasting but he did not seem even fazed.

"Pain is unavoidable but how you react to it is an option," he simply said. His voice did not waver and he did not seem to be in any pain. He kept his hand into the fire. His charcoaled skin melted from his bones, "I do not know in exact details what has happened you in the past that made you so weak as to think that you are powerless when it comes to pain but you need to move past this," he said and withdrew his hand from the fire.

He stood up and towered over her. Caroline looked up at him. She tucked her knees under her chin and hugged her legs with her trembling hands. Klaus looming figure above her was more than just scary. He was terrifying. His eyes were dark and blood was dripping from his burned hand as it slowly healed.

"You are not weak. You are not powerless," he revealed his opinion over her and Caroline blinked at how sure he sounded, "but if you allow pain to win then you won't be nothing but ordinary and vulnerable to everything life throws at you. Is this who you are Caroline? Ordinary? Nothing but a victim?" he challenged her and Caroline felt her fear turn to rage. Veins appeared under her eyes.

"This is rich coming from you!" she snapped gritting her teeth.

"Indeed," Klaus agreed in his most mocking tone, "here you are. Poor little Caroline. My victim. Unable to move back. Unable to move forward. Stuck in your self-pity. No choices for you left. But really sweetheart have you ever had any?" he sarcastically asked her as he threw her ring at her. She caught it midair with an uncertain move but without taking her eyes away from him. And then it was as if something inside of her snapped. She did not know what it was but she felt it. It was madness and rage. It was the need to make him swallow his mockery and the need to somehow break through her cocoon of pain and misery and set herself free.

Klaus squint his eyes and then his lips curved into a satisfied smirk as he recognize the determination in Caroline's eyes. It was a true revelation. The only thing that was missing for the past few weeks. Her will to actually learn. Her will to embrace his lessons. To embrace _him_.

Caroline got up and walked past him. She shed away the last torn pieces of her clothing that hung on her body as she reached the blowing drapes and pushed them to the side revealing the balcony and the open window doors again. She watched the unforgiving sun above the snowy mountains and she bit her lip. She took in a sharp breath and steeled herself for the upcoming pain. She looked down at the blue stone of her ring and she let it fall from her hand. It twirled in the air and dropped to the carpet as her skin turned to smoke and a crimson burn before it caught on fire.

Caroline screamed as every molecule of hers burst into flames and it would take a few more rounds of burning up and Klaus closing the curtains and allowing her to barely heal before she would be able to stand in front of the sun again smelling her burning skin in silence.

* * *

Caroline leaned back inside the warm water forcing her body to relax. Her skin still tingled and ached. She took a metallic bowl and used it to pour water to her hair and to her arms.

She sighed and closed her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to let go and sleep.

Ever since she had turned to a vampire she had not felt exhaustion and yet training with Klaus was a challenge. She barely ever slept anymore. Somehow learning to push through insomnia was part of her training and constantly one or more of Klaus witches would wake her up with aneurisms and spells that cracked her bones and turned her insides to shreds. It kept happening over and over again and then again and again and eventually Caroline realized that exactly as Klaus expected she was starting to adjust to the situation. She was on edge all the time and in the case she ever slept part of her was ready to jump up at the slightest noise or change in the air. After a few weeks Caroline could hear when someone would be even walking towards her even from meters away before even coming close to the door of the room she was in. Her eyes always flew open and she was up long before any of Klaus' minions would enter her room. However when she would finally give in to sleep her body seemed to be falling to oblivion and she was always missing the noise that should alert her to any foreign presence. She had to somehow work on that. She only hoped that when she would be able to feel any incoming threat and wake up Klaus would stop sending his witches to torture her in the middle of the night.

She assumed that Klaus wanted to teach her how to avoid getting caught by surprise. She had to admit that her hearing had improved. She had now learned to hear the noises of the environment all around her more carefully. She was more in sync with her surroundings. Humans for example breathed faster and had a loud heartbeat. Witches carried a more electrified aura. Vampires had a different scent and so did Hybrids and wolves. Even the most silent of steps made noise and bodies carried odors with them. Perspiration, pheromones, testosterone and natural scents even on a cellular level. She could detect every difference if she concentrated long enough and Klaus had showed her the difference. Caroline now could recognize every smell and sound more easily. She could even tell the difference between ages and genders without seeing the persons in question. Just by using her hearing and by smelling. It would be cool if it was not a skill acquired through pain and torture.

She threw her head back and enjoyed the feeling of the warm water. She leaned back against the tub. The metal of the solid polished bronze was hard against her back that was still healing from the burnings it got. She slid her body down and dove underneath the water surface. Her eyelids opened and closed feeling heavy and her eyes adjusted to the sensation of the water. In the water she felt more human and saner. Vampire abilities somewhat stilled under water and so she was doing this every day. It was a way for her to clear her thoughts. A way that evaded Klaus attention because otherwise he would also take that away from her too.

The silence of the water was a feeling she welcomed. She could hear her own heartbeat and her lungs would crave for air but at least she was alone in her own safety bubble. It was her escape and a way to remind to herself that Klaus' training was nothing but an attempt to brainwash her. Klaus was using her like a puppet and was controlling her strings. She had to make him believe he was succeeding but it was not easy. And diving under water into the bathtub everyday was not a sufficient way of keeping her vampire instincts at bay and keep her mind lucid. She had to find her balance again somehow. But how?

The distorted sound of steps reached her ears and she immediately emerged from the water. Ripples of water cascaded down her body and she pushed her wet hair back. She sat back on the tub and pushed her body down until water was covering her upper body up to the shoulders.

She felt caught on his scent. A shuddered passed through her and after a minute Klaus casually sauntered into the bathroom without even bothering to knock. Surely this was the least of her problems but something this managed to irritate her more than anything else today.

Caroline said nothing when he started shedding off his clothes. She pressed her lips and looked at the other way. She did not know why she was even doing this anymore. It was not as if she had been able to keep her modesty or dignity when it came to Klaus. Every night he was taking her in his arms and even though she should be terrified of him he always managed to make her feel safe and she always fell asleep next to him. Naked and vulnerable in his arms with his naked body pressed against hers. It was the weirdest thing. She half expected from Klaus to fuck her senseless but he never did. He only kept her close and touched and smelled her hair and skin and it actually felt good. It was creeping her out but it felt nice. Her mind was slowly being separated from her body. It was insane. She was losing her mind. What Klaus was doing by holding her like that every night was messing her up. It was intimate and she knew that something was fundamentally wrong with her because logically she should be disgusted by this but she felt warm when he was near her in that way.

Ever since Klaus started training her she was always starving for blood since he kept her malnourished and so her skin was always cold but his was warm and his embrace felt soft and was bringing to her skin a much needed warmth.

It was a werewolf thing. Tyler's body was also hot.

She sighed as she remembered Tyler. A painful stab slammed into her heart and she forced herself to relax but she missed Tyler. She missed him so much. She missed his face and his voice and his touch but she was starting to forget how exactly her name sounded in his lips and she hated that. She only hoped that Tyler was still running and hiding. She hoped he was safe and she was so scared about it. Klaus would kill him now on the spot. She had not doubt about that. He had already told her so the morning after the night they had sex in the woods.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"Your place is here with me sweetheart," he pressed and opened his hands widely to show her that this room was now hers too._

 _"No, no, I shouldn't have….I…I don't know what came over me last night," she refused with a trembling voice and her breath hitched on her throat when he cupped her face and she pushed herself further back to the surface of the door in fear._

 _"Caroline, accept me and you will grow to love me," he tempted her with a seductive voice as he looked intently in her eyes._

 _However there was something so cold and insincere there that terrified her and then she realized that this was not getting her anywhere._

 _This was Klaus! She had never played his games and she would not start now!_

 _"_ _I am_ _in love!" she spat at him and noticed how his gaze turned to ice instantly. It was a chilling feeling that swept all over her as he gripped her head brutally and made her wince._

 _"Tyler," he bit out with no emotion in his voice and banged her head violently to the door and she closed her eyes as she felt pain spreading in the back of her head._

 _She opened her eyes and looked straight back at him with defiance and he leaned over so he could reach her ear._

 _"Tyler is a dead man," he whispered in her ear with a deadly tone and she froze completely and shook her head as much as she could since his grip was unyielding._

 _Klaus was already hunting Tyler down. He already planned to kill him and now he seemed more determined than ever. What had she done?_

Caroline tried to shake these thoughts away but she could not. In this emotionless maniacal state Klaus was capable for everything. He would not show any mercy. He was obsessed with her and that whole mate nonsense but he did not care for anyone else. Klaus might have been training her for the past weeks but she was also paying close attention to every reaction he had also. There was a coldness in him that was terrifying her. She had seen Stefan and Elena without their emotions but Klaus was a whole other kind of nightmare. And the more she was trying to not think of all the things that could go wrong should Klaus pass the point of no return the more fear settled in her. Fear and a grief she had never felt before. And another emotion she had never felt before. The one when you feel that you are forgotten.

Because no matter how much she was trying to placate Klaus and make concessions that would keep her loved ones safe there was that little voice in her head that kept screwing with her and whispering on how everyone must have forgotten her by now. She kept thinking of how Tyler must have moved on by now. She was here stuck in the middle of nowhere inside a gilded cage with the Devil himself torturing her day in and day out and everyone else was free. What had she done to deserve this? And why was no one looking for her? Because deep down Caroline knew that if she was Elena then everyone would have moved heaven and hell and would have found her already. But no one ever came for her. She hated to admit it but perhaps Klaus was right. Was he right?

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"This won't last. No matter how many spells you have your minions cast at me. My friends will find me eventually," Caroline warned him and Klaus gave her an incredulous look of hilarity._

 _"You are not Elena love," he pointed out with delight "your…friends do not care."_

This doubt was killing her slowly. It was like rust growing inside her moving around her heart and immobilizing her. She was losing her will to fight back because she had no one left to fight for. The walls were closing in on her and this despair was gripping her soul so hard it was shredding it. She felt frozen and the fear was rising and was not letting go of her.

She was all alone and those she loved were miles away. Did they even think of her? Where their lives going on as if she had never existed in the first place? Was she being replaced? Had she made no impact to anyone's life? Did anyone even care?

Caroline's eyes watered and her breath hitched when Klaus got into the tub. He sat down on the other side of the tub and with a smirk he took her calve into his arms and massaged her foot.

She did not resist him but she refused to react in any other way.

"Come closer sweetheart," he purred and Caroline rolled her eyes. When his nails dug into her foot she moved forward. Water rose and fell from the tub as Klaus pulled her close. She heaved when her bare breasts touched his chest and he sniggered when he saw the crimson tint that colored her pale cheeks. She only exhaled a deep breath and tried to relax in his arms. She was so tired. When he fed her his blood earlier she got her strength back but being repeatedly scorched in the sun took away the last remnants of her power again. She felt weak and cold. Her skin had turned grey again and she felt as if her body weighted a ton once more.

"Your skin has healed even though you did not feed yet. The magic from the locator spell has turned you stronger," he said with a tone of admiration as his hands explored her smooth skin and Caroline said nothing. The memory of getting burned by the sun was one she did not want to retain.

She turned around because she hated looking into his eyes and seeing nothing but an emotionless void. She settled between his legs and rested against him. Her back leaned against the muscles of his sternum and she felt his cock twitching against her thigh. She felt the need to scream as her nipples hardened and even though the water was still warm she felt cold.

She tensed when his fingers squeezed her shoulders but soon his massage soothed her aching muscles. It felt heavenly and she almost purred in pleasure as she closed her eyes and allowed her body to rest against his as if it was something normal for her to do. Her eyes almost closed and she felt sleepy but she was afraid to actually fall asleep. She felt his lips on the top of her head and it was a gesture so tender. His soft kiss on her wet hair.

She sighed. This felt so intimate. Almost as if he still had a heart. But he didn't and his reactions confused her so much to be honest.

"Can I ask you something," she mumbled softly and Klaus hummed giving her the cue to keep talking.

"How does it feel?"

Klaus hands stilled and he applied just enough pressure on her shoulders to make a twinge of fear vibrate in her heart.

"How does it feel to turn your emotions off?" she asked despite the tremors that attacked her body when his grip on her shoulders became punishing. She could already feel the sting of the bruises that bloomed on her skin that was still healing from the fire.

"Tread carefully Caroline," Klaus warned her and Caroline scoffed. The coldness in his voice would terrify anyone but it only annoyed her now.

She spun around feeling the water slide between their bodies and then she sat on the tub facing him. She did not try to cover her body nor did she allow herself to feel self-conscious at the way his eyes slowly travelled over her damp nude upper body. His leer was provocative but also threatening and she rolled her eyes at him. She could already tell what he was thinking. From the looks of it Klaus remained a paranoid control freak with or without his emotions. That would never change she guessed.

"Oh shut up," she snapped at him and Klaus arched an eyebrow at her outburst, "I am not trying to make you turn it back on," she dismissed his paranoia even though they both knew deep down that no matter their deal it was a given that if she ever found an opening when it came to making him turn his emotions back on she would take it "I am just curious," she admitted and Klaus smirked and she squirmed a bit at the way his eyes glinted.

"Eve was curious too," Klaus drawled and his hand reached for neck. Caroline swallowed down hard when his fingers teased the pulsing vein on her skin and grazed the column of her neck, "look how that ended," Klaus teased and his fingers skimmed the curve of her breast. Caroline held her breath as she felt a throbbing sensation between her legs. She gripped the edge of the tub and looked at Klaus' crooked smile.

He was taking enjoyment out of this and she hated to admit that it was turning her on. How messed up was she exactly? But maybe she only needed to release all this sexual tension that was building up inside her and think of nothing for a few moments. Just get lost in pleasure even with Klaus. Use him in the same way he wanted to use her. To have mindless sex and be done with it. She looked at his chest and the drops of water that were slowly sliding down his stomach and falling on the water that covered him from the waist down. His legs were still spread on the tub and she was sitting between them. This was getting too personal and she was getting all hot and bothered. She wanted to fuck Klaus. Great! Just great! She berated herself and cursed her bad luck internally. This was a new low. To lust over her abuser. Sure this would end well. What was wrong with her?

"If only Adam hadn't been a gullible idiot" Klaus finished and removed his hand from her breast and Caroline almost screamed in frustration. She glared at him and Klaus snickered and leaned back against the tub. His mirthful expression was making Caroline furious.

"Or maybe he preferred mortality instead of immortality without her. Not that you could ever understand how that _feels_ ," Caroline threw back at him and Klaus' eyes turned to slits. His gaze was intense and Caroline folded her hands against her chest but refused to avert her eyes or to allow him to evade her question.

"So how is it?" she insisted and Klaus shrugged.

" _Freedom_ ," he simply said and Caroline shook her head disappointed. That word especially coming out of his mouth irritated her.

She tried to get up and get out of the tub but Klaus reached for her waist and pulled her on him. Water splashed all around them as she landed on him and shivered at the closeness and intimacy as Klaus' legs intertwined with hers. His hands embraced her and he held her close to him.

"You are far too empathetic to understand this. At least right now," he pointed out and Caroline froze. She titled her head up and this time she could not hide the panic she felt.

Klaus laughed and Caroline tried to move away but he only held her tighter.

"I do not want you to turn it off," he reassured her and even though she breathed in relief she gave him a stare of confusion.

"You are far more amusing like this," Klaus sneered and Caroline gritted her teeth, "All that fire," Klaus mocked, "I would hate to dull it. At least for now. Maybe once I get bored your emotionless self will provide quite the entertainment," he drawled and Caroline's jaw clenched.

This was pointless. She was playing with fire. She could not trust Klaus. Not when he was like this but there was nowhere left to run to. She had to find a way out of this mess. But Klaus had managed to corner her and he had covered his tracks. How could she get out of this nightmare? She was stuck! Damn him!

"Fear not my love. Right now I like you exactly as you are," Klaus whispered in a soothing voice that did not lull her to safety. If anything it turned her skin to ice. There was something so insidious to every word that was coming out of Klaus' lips. She could not predict any of his moves or understand his intentions anymore. There was no solid ground for her to stand on anymore. This dance was only tearing her apart.

She felt Klaus' hands on her hips and their bodies grinded together. She closed her eyes knowing what was coming and she rested her head against Klaus' chest. She felt his chin on the top of her head and she tried not to squirm.

Klaus was sniffing her! Her hair. Her face. Her neck. Her skin. His nose nudged her shoulder blades. Seriously what was up with that? His wolfish ways were so weird and unsettling. He was doing this constantly. Always hugging her like this. Taking in her scent and pushing his naked body against hers. It was so creepy. She could feel his need for her and yet he never tried to do anything else with her.

When she heard his growl she clenched her eyes. She knew what would follow next. She did not need to look up. She knew that Klaus' eyes were glowing yellow now. She felt his claws coming out as his nails turned to sharp talons. She stood absolutely still as Klaus' claws run up and down her sides. Klaus had scratched her some nights ago and those red welts did not heal as they should. Maybe it was because she was not feeding regularly or maybe there was a layer of venom on his werewolf claws too. It was not as poisonous as his bite was and it was not deadly but it hurt and even though Klaus had kissed and lapped with his tongue those markings –almost affectionately– that did not diminish the pain. It was painful to endure and Caroline did not want to add this kind of pain to her already exhausted body today.

She pressed herself more against him, moaned and wrapped her hands around his neck almost pleadingly. The warmth she felt contradicted the fear and created a haze of anticipation and horror inside her.

She heard Klaus muttering something she did not understand and felt his muscles flexing under her body and then he pushed her away harshly and got out of the tub.

Caroline's eyes shot open and looked at Klaus that had his back turned on her. He was heaving as if he was trying to regain control and Caroline did not dare say anything. She saw rivers of water cascading down on the tense muscles of his back, ass and thighs. She brought her knees up and hugged them inside the tepid water. She bit her lip and shivers attacked her body. She could hear his heartbeat and its erratic rapid tempo. It was weird how the beating of his heard was almost in sync with her own.

Caroline noticed with a mix of wonder and uneasiness how Klaus hair had grew longer and the color of his damp locks had turned into a brighter shade of brown and gold. It reminded her of the fur of his wolf form and for some reason she wanted to thread her fingers in his hair. She held her breath and saw how slowly his hair turned shorter again and the claws on his hands slowly disappeared. She frowned when she heard the cracking of bones but it did not last long.

She heard Klaus taking a deep breath and soon enough his heart beat slowed down and weirdly enough so did hers.

Klaus sighed and turned around to face her. Caroline bit her lip harshly and tried to keep her eyes on his face but could help but take a peek downwards. He was _hard_. Really hard and his body was wet and she knew that her whole body was now covered with a deep shade of red.

Their gazes locked and Klaus's eyes remained fixated on her face.

"The new full moon is approaching soon. You better start preparing yourself," he suddenly said and Caroline felt dread. There was something ominous in Klaus declaration.

"Why?" she muttered fearfully and tendrils of worry and fear coiled in her stomach that turned into a huge knot.

Klaus lips slowly formed a smile. A smile that brought chills to Caroline. She flinched. There was no humanity or warmth in Klaus' eyes now. Only cold determination.

"When the moon reaches its apex I will claim you as my mate," he informed her and Caroline's eyes widened. She could not even begin to comprehend what that meant but every instinct of hers retaliated. Trepidation settled on the pit of her stomach and she felt as if her insides were turning and twisting violently.

Klaus smirked and reached for a towel. Caroline looked at him stunned as he casually wrapped it against his hips and ran his hand over his wet locks pushing back the excess of water before using another towel to dry his hair. He winked at her and Caroline felt as if he had just punched her.

"What does that even mean?" she demanded an answer. She was starting to hyperventilate. There was something in Klaus' stance and composure that assured her that whatever he was planning to do to her at the next full moon was far worse from what he had already done to her. Otherwise he would not even bother to give her a heads up. And for him to actually warn her now that he had not his emotions? It meant that whatever was coming up next was something she would not like. At all. She quavered and felt her eyes sting with tears.

"Don't worry love. It will be fun."

Klaus left the bathroom and Caroline covered her mouth with her hand trying to keep the scream inside. She did not even know what Klaus meant but for some reason she knew without a doubt that him claiming her as his mate would be the last nail in her coffin.


	12. Remnants of Love

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

Caroline watched the commotion at the stone gardens beneath her balcony and she gripped the old limestone banister tightly as her eyes darkened. She had moved to the adjoining bedroom next to Klaus' room that led to a beautiful elevated patio with old metal furniture and tall limestone railings wrapped in ivy and roses. No magic barriers were needed to keep her locked in a guest room anymore and Klaus informed everyone in his estate that training aside she was to be treated as the Lady of the Manor and so she moved to one of the master bedrooms that Klaus' kept only for his lovers. She hated that demeaning 'mistress' status but she guessed that this was what she was now. If not something more because no matter how ridiculous it sounded everyone in this place now called her "my Lady" as if this was not the 21st century and as if she was an old Victorian damsel in distress.

Everything was just so surreal. She was still a prisoner and yet her keepers treated her as if she was, for the lack of a better term, Klaus' wife.

Caroline watched as vampires and witches and even humans were preparing the grounds of the estate for the ritual that was to take place tomorrow night.

It was happening. A done deal to which her consent was not required.

Even thinking about it was so stressful that Caroline was finding that she was barely even able to function anymore.

Everyone was following strict orders and all she could do was wait for the full moon and whatever new horror Klaus had in store for her. All he had told her was that he would claim her as his mate and that Adelaide would inform and prepare her for the ritual.

A week ago that obnoxious witch had arrived to the manor and since then Adelaide Richelieu and Klaus kept planning and organizing everything in secrecy. They did not even have the decency to inform her about the ritual that, as Caroline gathered, would change her life in more abhorrent ways.

But at least there was a silver lining. The last days had been a respite since Klaus had stopped his training but that was also a fact that was increasing her worry.

There was something profoundly unsettling about that witch and about prolonging the inevitable and counting down the days and the hours to the ritual. Klaus had no emotions so she had learned to expect anything and everything from him but it was that witch that worried her the most. That she-devil seemed to carry with her a viciously sadistic gaze that chilled Caroline right down to the bone. Adelaide was staying two doors down the corridor. To the most majestic guest room that one of Klaus' witches told her that Klaus kept only for his most prestigious guests.

That managed to irritate Caroline even more and yet every night that she joined Klaus and Adelaide for dinner she plastered a cordial smile on her lips refusing to show any fear. She had even managed to keep her heart rate under control knowing all too well that Klaus would be listening to it ready to find a sign of weakness. And so formal dinners were taking place where she was dressed to perfection parading in expensive gowns and jewellery and joined them every evening as Klaus entertained the witch with haunting music, exotic dishes, old wine and polite conversation.

Every night Adelaide and Klaus would share with her memories from their long pasts and even though Klaus had no feelings to share his descriptions of his old adventures were a fascinating tale and yet when Adelaide talked everything seemed to be taking a more sensual turn. Her whole body language and the way she carried herself screamed of sex and Caroline hated it even more so when she noticed how Klaus seemed to find the witch's attitude amusing if not irresistible. Caroline hated everything in Adelaide Richelieu and if there was one thing she knew for sure was that if she ever managed to get out of this mess she would not stop until that witch's head would roll from her ancient neck.

Klaus' lessons must have influenced her after all since now all her dreams were violent and all her aspirations included hopes of murder. Every passing day and she dreamed of revenge. Her heart had darkened as did all her sharpened instincts now. She had no qualms when it came feeding fresh from the vein now and Klaus' witches were always offering their necks and wrists to her. At first Caroline did not want to indulge but after a while it became a way of rebellion towards the people that kept hurting her and it was better than the days of starvation. She never killed anyone because that was a line she was not ready to pass and part of her was thankful that despite his obscene 'training' Klaus had not tried to turn her to a killer yet; but she did enjoy ripping into some of his minions' necks and almost draining them dry until they stumbled away unable to perform their precious magic or even stand straight.

For now Caroline was playing the waiting game.

Sooner or later Klaus would turn it back on and then she would make him suffer. She would find a way to make him curse the day he was born and if he would ever ask to atone the first heart Caroline would ask would be Adelaide's and then she would make him eat it and choke on it.

Caroline clenched her eyes close as she inhaled from meters away that peculiar scent Adelaide's body emanated. Veins appeared in her face. The witch was coming to her room so Caroline let her breath out and banished the hatred from her features. She had to adapt and to evolve. It was the only way to survive.

She had already started weaving her way into some of Klaus' trusted circle of witches. She did not feed from all the witches. Those that seemed less prone to mindlessly follow commands became her targets. With some she flirted with and with others she shared smiles of understanding. She needed to be smart about it. She needed to make people think that she was subdued to Klaus' will and to befriend some of his minions. Until she would be able to find the chink in Klaus' armour she needed to make allies that could potentially prove to be useful to her in the long run. It would not work now or in the near future but it could work later on. But until then she had to appear docile and submissive and so she had to go through with the mating ritual as scheduled. It was not as if she had any options anyway. The last thing she wanted would be for Klaus to compel her or shackle her in another dungeon or ritual table before unfolding his newest Shakespearean nightmare.

She had to play along or so she kept trying to convince herself. And hope that the game would not kill even that last traces of her humanity in the process. She had to stay strong and think of those that she loved. It was not just her survival at stake here. It was not just the internal locator spell that destroyed her will to run away but her burning all-consuming need to keep her mom and her friends safe even if they had forgotten her by now. This was her mantra and this is where she had focused even on a psychotic degree. This was what kept her going.

The door opened with a soft creak and Caroline bit her tongue. That infuriating woman did not even knock. She acted as if she owned the place and Klaus was allowing that behaviour to continue.

Caroline turned around and went and elegantly sat to her armchair and watched with sharp eyes as two more witches entered the room after Adelaide. Caroline watched as the one witch brought with her a beautiful white grenadine lace dress. Vintage and delicate. It was sleeveless and knee-length with a pale blue satin ribbon under the low cut collar bodice. The witch placed the dress on a hanger she balanced on the corner of one of the tall old mirrors. The other witch which happened to be one of those that Caroline was trying to befriend carried with her a carved box that she placed on the antique makeup vanity before she came out to the balcony to greet her respectfully.

Caroline barely registered her presence as she focused her hearing at what the other two witches were whispering in the room. Obviously the other witch was giving to Adelaide a report over the progress she had made with the preparation for the ritual.

"Would you like some blood my Lady?" the witch that was standing next to her asked her with a look of sympathy.

Caroline bit back the snide remark she wanted to make and smiled at the girl in front of her. She was hungry but she would not feed from her.

"No Estelle. Thank you," she rejected the offer with a kind smile as her eyes kept taking glances at Adelaide and the other witch.

"Are you sure my Lady. You look kind of pale," Estelle insisted and Caroline sighed.

"I am sure," she softly said with a nod and squeezed the witch's hand reassuringly as Adelaide came out to the patio.

"Welcome MissRichelieu," Caroline greeted the witch in a polite manner while tapping her nails on the metallic arm of her chair. She used the bright smile she used in her Miss Mystic Falls coronation and kept her need to attack at bay.

Adelaide sat opposite to her on the table and gave her a sardonic smile.

"Good morning darling. But please call me Adelaide. Miss Richelieu makes me feel so old," she sassily joked and Caroline arched a mocking eyebrow at her.

"Aren't you though?" she snipped before she could stop herself and Adelaide's true colors came to the surface as her smile now held only darkness that made Caroline feel as if insects were crawling over her skin.

"Touché dear," Adelaide complimented her and Caroline reciprocated the same smile and then pointed towards her cup of steaming coffee on the table.

"Would you like anything?" Caroline politely asked the witch while their cold gazes still clashed.

"A tea would be nice," the witch accepted with a dismissive wave of her hand and Caroline gave a curt nod to Estelle that rushed to serve Klaus' head witch.

Caroline noticed how the young witch cowered in front of Adelaide and it was something that everyone seemed to be doing in Adelaide's presence. That woman carried menace and danger in her perfume and Caroline's insecurities manifested once more. Adelaide was a dangerous opponent and a woman that held power and the world in her palm. Something that created envy and doubt in Caroline. Adelaide and Klaus carried themselves with such confidence. They yielded death in their fingertips and experience. They were made from the same centuries' old cloth while she was just a cheerleader from a small town in the middle of nowhere. A baby vampire that never had the chance to get out to the world on her own and get her rite of passage. What hope could she ever have against these monsters? She could not compete. She did not even belong to their league. She just felt so inexperienced, powerless and weak; so instead, she kept trying to fake confidence but she was sure that both Klaus and that damn witch could see right through her and this was so demeaning and humiliating that was breaking her piece by piece.

Estelle poured some tea to the witch and Caroline dismissed her silently. The young witch bowed respectfully and seemed relieved that she would leave Adelaide's sight and Caroline drew in a deep breath and waited as Adelaide stirred the tea with her silver spoon after adding a teaspoon of brown sugar in it. She then tasted the tea and ran her tongue over her lips with a sensual moan making Caroline dream of the day where that tea would be deadly poison instead.

Adelaide gave Caroline a mischievous grin as she put down her cup and the steam rose as she leaned back and examined the blonde vampire with a sultry smile that made Caroline squirm a bit.

"I am here to talk you through the details for the ritual tomorrow," Adelaide casually said and the muscles in Caroline's jaw tensed.

"How exciting," Caroline mumbled faking a smile in return and the witch chuckled.

"Oh, but it is," Adelaide countered excitedly, "these kind of spells are rites of the old and since you are not a werewolf in your case it is going to be…unique. Extraordinary I would say," she huskily said as the wind swept through her black strands.

"What does this ritual do exactly?" Caroline asked fearfully knowing all too well that she would not like the answer.

"Klaus will claim you as his mate."

Adelaide's simple answer made Caroline's blood boil.

"In more detail if you don't mind," Caroline grit out and Adelaide's perfectly manicured red nails slid over the metal carvings of the table.

"Well it is a basic mating spell," she began with an almost deranged glint in her eyes and Caroline realized that she was enjoying this. Motives aside that woman had a sadistic streak, "Klaus will free his wolf and will mark you as his mate. For all the world to see," Adelaide sarcastically sing sung and Caroline gritted her teeth.

"Go on," Caroline prompted the witch impressed with how she managed to keep her anger under control and sound even to her ears patient and in control.

Adelaide's shoulders slumped in boredom.

"As every spell of this kind the basic opponents are the full moon, blood and sex," she casually told Caroline with a detached tone and sipped more tea.

"I see," Caroline mumbled in a seemingly indifferent tone even though she was starting to get anxious all over again but she masked her worry. However the idea of having sex with Klaus again was making her feel wary and uncomfortable. After everything he had done to her and after their compulsion induced first night together having sex with him seemed dreadful to her. She was horny as hell and her body wanted him but her mind was screaming at her and even though having sex was part of their deal the rational part of her brain reminded her that this was not in reality a consensual deal. Klaus had forced this on her. But she had run out of options and there were no ways out it seemed and this whole mate nonsense was really hitting on her last nerve.

Adelaide then proceeded in telling her with a nonchalant expression in detail how she must get prepared for the ritual. She told her about the bath with essential oils she would need to take tomorrow before the ritual in the presence of Klaus' trusted witches that would chant the waters and the oils and how she would need to wear the ceremonial dress the other witch has hung over the mirror.

When Caroline commented that that dress looked like a virginal wedding dress Adelaide simply shrugged and said that these old rituals were a form of matrimony between werewolf royalty which shocked Caroline to the core. Matrimony? As in marriage? She was marrying Klaus? This was a whole new level of insane.

Then Adelaide walked her through the initial details for the ritual and instructed her about how warlocks and witches would escort her to the ritual site. There Klaus would wait for her and she would have to give herself willingly to him in front of a shaman. He would bless their union where she would have to accept the moon as her guide and Klaus as her eternal mate by sharing blood with him under the rising moon.

Klaus would then leave and she would need to walk with her head high until reaching the one of the two circles the witches had created deep in the woods. One for her and one for Klaus. And then she would have to willingly kneel and bow down her head in front of pagan priestess witch while repeating a chant that Adelaide had left in an old papyrus in the box Estelle had earlier brought in the room and that Caroline would need to memorize and eventually recite at heart. After that she would need to rise and enter the circle that Adelaide would spell into fire. On the other side of the woods Klaus at the same moment will be entering his own circle repeating the same chant calling to her as she will be calling to him while bowing down to the old traditions.

Caroline listened stunned to all the intricate details and realized that eventually she would be trapped into a circle of fire while she would have to wait until she would hear Klaus' howling coming closer. Klaus would change into a wolf and would come to her.

Caroline noticed that at that part Adelaide's gaze changed into an amused one and it chilled Caroline's blood in her veins. There was something predatory in that amusement and Adelaide then told her that the best part would be the one that would come next. Because Klaus would come to her circle in his wolf form to claim her and only when the witches near the circle of fire would give her the sign by lowering the flames she would be able to run. In fact she would have to fun. Fast. As if there would be no tomorrow.

"You will have to run into the spelled pentagram I have circled in the map I put under the papyrus in the box on your vanity," Adelaide seriously told Caroline but there was a hint of mirth in her voice, "Klaus will chase you there. The grounds are sanctified by werewolf ashes and werewolf bones are creating a bigger pentagram beneath the ground. The claiming part comes next. And you should prepare yourself since it comes with _a lot_ of sex," Adelaide stated with a giggle and Caroline tried to stop her hands from trembling. She placed her hands on her lap and turned her palms into fists. The crudeness in the witch's leer turned her stomach.

"I know these are a lot of details but I will walk you through them step by step tomorrow again. The ritual is quite complicated and it has animalistic aspects in its completion but your mating will be exciting for you too. You will be given an aphrodisiac potion during your bath. It will turn you on," Adelaide shamelessly taunted her and Caroline felt her cheeks flame up.

"It is actually quite the experience," Adelaide continued with a knowing wink, "trust me dear it makes everything much more pleasurable," the witch spoke from experience but Caroline opened her mouth only to close it again as she found that no sound could come out.

Adelaide smirked at the way Caroline gaped shocked after hearing the basic details of the ritual.

"The potion also has a high concentration of pheromones," Adelaide noted unconcerned by the horrified look Caroline had, "It will attract Klaus more to you. And then-"

Caroline pushed her chair up with great force throwing it to the balcony rails with a deafening clang and she stood up unable to hear more. She started walking back and forth trying to digest all the vile information she heard from the witch. It was too much. All her walls and her guards fell down as realization came crashing down. This was actually happening and such a complicated ritual would for sure have complicated consequences on her. And she would have to screw Klaus on the woods, after their 'matrimonial unification' in the circles, as Adelaide called it, as if she would be a bitch in heat for crying out loud. A married bitch! This was insane. This could not be happening. She wanted to scream.

Caroline turned around seeing red and hit her palms on the table making it shake. Coffee and tea spilled on the surface and Adelaide arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow.

"What are the side effects? What will happen to me after the ritual?" Caroline hissed and Adelaide pressed her lips amused by the volatile reactions of the young vampire. However she was impressed that Caroline did not need to be told and was smart enough to understand on her own that such an unbreakable bond was not going to just modify Klaus' needs in relation to her but would definitely have consequences that would affect her also. And they would.

"You will be bound to Klaus forever. In ways you will get to explore throughout the eons to come," Adelaide vaguely dodged the question making Caroline growl in fury. However even in her rage Caroline knew the power of the witch. She had felt it when Adelaide had cast the internal locator spell on her. She could not take her on and win that was for sure.

Caroline hung her head breathing in and out feeling tears welling up in her eyes.

"Why are you doing this?" she stammered without looking at the witch. She fisted her palms and tried to breathe and regain control as she felt her fangs starting to break the skin of her gums.

"I am a witch for hire little vampire. Not many can hire my expertise," Adelaide bragged and Caroline shook her head before the witch continued talking with pride aggravating Caroline more, "Actually there are only but quite a few left in the world that can. Niklaus Mikaelson is one of them."

Caroline turned around and ran her hands through her hair. She felt the need to pull it.

"You need to let this happen sweet Caroline," Adelaide advised and Caroline twirled around and gave the witch an incredulous look.

Adelaide sighed and stared at Caroline with seriousness.

"His wolf right now is tearing him apart. His need is overwhelming him and without his emotions he can't balance out the beast inside. He is an Original. The repercussions of him going insane would be catastrophic especially without his emotions," she stated solemnly and Caroline felt her as if her knees were made from rubber.

What the witch was saying was clear. Klaus was on the verge of getting out of control. In an apocalyptic scale. So in order to maintain the catastrophe Caroline would have be the lamb to go to the slaughter. The witch was literally ready to sacrifice her to the wolf. Not that she looked as if she cared anyway. In any case Caroline understood that she was screwed and not just figuratively speaking.

"Once he claims you the wolf inside him will rest. He will always crave you in a primal level but you will be marked by him and this will have him more at ease. It will also make your life a lot easier when it comes to Klaus' need to mate with you. A certain normalcy will be able to be achieved in your interactions without the fear of Klaus losing control," Adelaide said as if this was meant to be some sort of consolation for Caroline when it was nothing else than an eternal sentence or imprisonment.

"You are collateral damage I am afraid," Adelaide concluded and Caroline blinked as memories from her first meeting with Klaus invaded her mind. That was what he had unremorsefully told her the first time he entered her room to heal her with his blood after he ordered Tyler to bite her. That she was collateral damage and now this was coming to full circle.

Caroline glared at the witch before determination filled her eyes.

"I could try to make him turn it back again. There is still time," she decisively insisted trying to convince not only the witch but herself too. It was a risky bet. Klaus could retaliate and hurt her mom and her friends but there had to be a crack from where the light could rush back in again. There had to be.

"Is there?" the witch challenged her with a pointed look and Caroline felt desperate.

"Sometimes I feel him. He is still in there. I could try," she quietly whispered averting her eyes from Adelaide trying to remember another time where Klaus was still a man with feelings and the ability to care. She had seen him. He had not been a fever dream. He had existed.

"At what cost?"

The harsh question made Caroline clench her eyes shut trying to drown her fears and doubts because should she try bring Klaus' emotions back and fail all hell would indeed break loose. He would destroy her and everything she held dear. Could she risk it? Could she take such a chance knowing beforehand the price she would have to pay for her failure?

 _ **Flashback**_

" _One more thing. If you try to trick me in any way or break our deal I will make sure that the punishment will be…spectacular," Klaus swore and at the menace that reflected in his gleam she felt drops of sweat running down her spine, "and then… I will keep you under lock and key for the rest of your eternity. And your torture won't be just physical," he assured making Caroline's blood turn to ice, "you will live for the rest of your immortal life knowing you are responsible for the ….death of everyone you have ever met."_

"He does not want to turn it back," Adelaide reminded Caroline with a cold voice, "he will resist and a man like Klaus knows how to put up a fight and thwart whatever he wants to forget, evade or run from for centuries to come if not countless millennia. He is an Original. The Original Hybrid. He could leave the whole world in ruins in retaliation if he desires so. _And you_? You could lose everything you are and everything you love. It would be a foolish quest," the witch warned her giving voice to Caroline's worst fears.

Caroline refused to even think of this possibility. This could not happen. If she could only reach to him! If she brought him back then he would not hurt those that she loved. The Klaus she remembered would never hurt her like this. Not intentionally and not without provocation.

"I don't think-"

The witch threw her head back and laughed maniacally interrupting Caroline. Caroline glared at her but then Adelaide looked at her almost with twisted…sympathy. And Caroline almost faltered when she saw a look of wisdom in Adelaide's eyes that seemed almost close to not just knowledge but compassion also.

"You really don't know anything about his history do you?" she quietly asked Caroline and Caroline huffed.

"I know enough."

"I somehow doubt that," Adelaide retorted with a snort and Caroline pressed her lips annoyed.

"And you do?" Caroline bit out and Adelaide looked over the balcony at the mountains that rose in the horizon under the icy winter.

"I had to," she simply commented, "it would be foolish of me to not make my research. Wouldn't it?"

Adelaide then got up and approached Caroline that immediately tensed up. When the witch took a strand of her hair in her hands Caroline narrowed her eyes going into defensive mode.

"How much do you know about the hunter's curse child?"

The world _child_ made Caroline feel even more insignificant in front of Adelaide's presence but she tried to push that feeling back. Instead she carefully detached her hair from the witch's hand and gave her best _'bitch please'_ look. In return Adelaide nodded with a smile.

"Klaus was cursed," Caroline said and Adelaide snickered.

"That is one way to describe it," Adelaide noted and walked at the railings. She looked at the people at the gardens that kept working for the ritual but her eyes saw flashes from other times and memories.

"By the year 1115 AD Klaus had succumbed to the hunter's curse. There are legends of that time. The spirits from the other side up to this day keep sending the terror of those times in prophecies and dreams to our kind. As a reminder. To fuel our hate for your kind. To heed our way," Adelaide revealed to Caroline that became intrigued and threw all caution to the wind and joined the witch's side listening carefully to her story.

"I think the highlight of those dreams is the one with the unborn babies Niklaus tore from the wombs of their mothers before skinning the half dead witches alive," Adelaide sneered and Caroline gasped shocked, "but the scale was much larger. Cities that got lost in time but in reality they were burned down in fire and blood. Whole lineages decimated. Glorious carnage and destruction in a massive scale that even created apocalyptic prophecies that were introduced in new passages and prophecies for so many religions."

Caroline looked horrified by Adelaide's words as the witch started describing in detail to her what Klaus had done when he was under the Hunter's curse. It was not just mass murder. It was annihilation. The havoc and slaughter Klaus had caused turned her blood to ice and something told her that Adelaide was not making anything up. She was not exaggerating. She was being completely honest and suddenly Caroline understood why the rumors and the legends surrounding Klaus' name were coloring him in the most terrifying colors and why no one believed he even existed. He was indeed a nightmare. A plague and a scourge upon this earth and Caroline was for a moment disgusted that she belonged to his bloodline and that she would be tied to him for eternity.

"His siblings were unable to restrain him," Adelaide continued, "the daggers do not work on him and they could not bear to see him desiccated. Not when in his moments of lucidness he was breaking down in his siblings' arms and no one was able to absolve him or make his pain end. He kept trying to kill himself but he could not die and his brothers and sister did not allow him to wait for Mikael to finish the job despite Klaus' willingness to surrender. For many decades even after he had killed the Five Klaus was battling with his inner demons. His reign of terror was a never-ending cycle and the world and those that he loved the most paid the price. His madness swept through everything until eventually the new hunters were born and the curse ended but his mind was shuttered and would not mend for years...if it ever did," Adelaide surmised and Caroline that looked at her with glossy eyes full of dread, revulsion and of unspeakable sadness. All the destruction and all the suffering Adelaide had described were things that no human mind could conceive and even though Caroline not a human anymore she could not still even begin to understand the pain Klaus had felt and the kind of atrocities he had committed in his past. No wonder he was so broken and so obsessed with breaking his curse when he came to Mystic Falls. Being cursed was part of his identity as much as his nature and name were.

"Elijah Mikaelson confessed to me a long time ago that after that time Niklaus Mikaelson was never the same," Adelaide sighed, "he was lost in a different kind of madness that changed him. He became cruel, cold-blooded but somehow he was still the only one of the Originals that never turned off his emotions," he revealed to Caroline with an impressed voice. "He hadn't before the hunter's curse which was to be expected as that particular curse back then had influenced his switch. As long as the hunter's curse tormented him he could not turn it off but funny thing was that he never did that even after the curse broke even though after such ordeal it would have been a natural result. It would certainly be a relief."

Caroline stared at the witch speechless. Every part of Klaus's past seemed to always be a contradicting and yet fascinating story. He had done so much. He had endured so much more. He had seen and felt so many things. And yet when she met him there were parts of him that were still human and alive and could be mended. She had seen those parts in him no matter how broken he had been even back then.

And after learning more about his past knowing that he had finally succumbed and turned it off hurt her even more and not just because she was one more of his victims in his endless list. It was such a pity that his destiny was to suffer like this.

Was this what she had to expect too? She was an immortal. A monster. A vampire. Was she meant to become as tormented as the Mikaelsons and the Salvatore brothers were? Was there no other way for this story to end?

"Even the noble Elijah Mikaelson had turned off his emotions around the 1300 AD I think," Adelaide tried to remember looking confused as she counted the years and the memories in her mind, "Rebekah Mikaelson and Kol Mikaelson too. Earning daggers in their hearts by Niklaus himself for that," Adelaide jested.

"But not him," Caroline muttered feeling overwhelmed by this revelation.

"No. Never him," Adelaide repeated allowing that fact to sink in to Caroline's mind.

"If you ask me I believe this was his own way for paying penance for his crimes under the curse. Even monsters feel regret and pain. And Niklaus had been the most human of the Originals once upon a time," the witch lamented in an almost enchanting voice that vibrated with respect and admiration and Caroline had to swallow down the unshed tears that lingered in her eyes.

"How do you know about all these?" Caroline questioned the witch in a moment of true honesty and understanding between them.

Adelaide's smile lost its confidence. It became melancholic.

"My descendants always served the Original family and recorded their history. Knowledge is power after all. I read about them and I have lived with them," she informed Caroline. For a few decades I had also been Elijah's mistress," she bluntly shrugged.

"Not Klaus's?" Caroline asked tentatively and the witch smirked.

"His too," Adelaide sassed proudly and Caroline tried to mask her discomfort at that revelation. For a reason she could not explain not even to herself the mental images of Klaus and Adelaide together turned her stomach and made her seethe.

Adelaide arched an eyebrow at her obvious reaction but Caroline did not make any further comment.

"Now imagine Caroline. All that burden. All the pain. All the despair and after a thousand years he finally turns it off. He is _finally_ free. Would you turn it back or at least would you turn it back that easily?" the witch dared her and Caroline glowered at her.

"He is not himself!" Caroline lashed out and Adelaide shook her head amused.

"Of course he is," Adelaide turned Caroline's objection down immediately, "maybe not entirely but this is still him. And he would have been completely and utterly free if it was not for you. You seem to have been his connection to humanity and now you are paying the price for that," she said and Caroline stiffened.

"And if anything sweet girl you probably made sure that he will never turn it back."

Caroline gestured wildly at that unable to keep her control as her frustration won over.

"Klaus said that too! How can that be true? What is that supposed to mean?" Caroline demanded an answer feeling completely lost.

"Sublimation and…common sense," Adelaide simply said making Caroline frown and let out a huff of air in the most unladylike manner making the woman next to her chuckle bemused.

"Klaus Mikaelson is highly intelligent and right now he is driven by sterile calculation of facts. He is existing, acting and reacting by cause and effect. For now his wolf's emotional instincts drive him and are a replacement for all the emotions he felt as man to the point where he does not even feel the faint emotional itch every other vampire feels that prompts them to turn it back on. The dimmer switch that goes up and down. Klaus has his wolf to _'feel'_ for him and that happens because his wolf can't help but feel for his mate and this peculiar emotional trigger of his animal makes up for the loss of everything else," the witch explained and Caroline realized that if this was true this could indeed go one for centuries if not forever, "And of course there is the fact that he has hurt you. That much he knows and I am willing to bet that in his unemotional state it was intentional as a way to ensure that he would not turn it back on. Because I doubt Klaus would want to return to an emotional world where he would have to face the consequences of hurting his mate. The woman he… loves," Adelaide noticed with a pointed look and Caroline froze and then stumbled back as if lightning had hit her.

"He doesn't love me," she stuttered, "He couldn't have. He didn't-"

"Of course he did," Adelaide retorted cutting Caroline's phrase off, "Of course _he does_ ," she insisted, "he wouldn't have chosen you as his mate if he didn't. Either it is the man, or the vampire, or the wolf in the end he loves you Caroline."

Caroline stilled. She felt as if ice and fire were thrown at her. She could not move or speak or even blink.

This could not be true. Sure Klaus had been infatuated with her and yes he had been obsessed with her but that had been it. It could not have been anything more.

She had once told him that he was in love with her but she was trying to manipulate him in order to have him spare her. And falling in love from loving someone was something different. And even when she provoked him into healing her by acknowledging his feelings for her she didn't actually believe he was really in love with her. Not really. She couldn't believe it. It was impossible.

Unless… _it wasn't._

"Oh yes," Adelaide confirmed, "Love is part of it. It is essential especially for a man like Klaus. Whatever his faults may be Klaus had always been the kind of a man that could feel everything deeply and with the most passion and intensity. And what he felt for you could have been nothing else than love," she said, in a straightforward manner that was not allowing any room for objections or doubts in its certainly, making Caroline shiver, "The kind of love that ran so deeply and was so profound that its remnants still linger now that he can feel no emotion. They manifest differently but are still there," Adelaide said with a grave tone and suddenly Caroline's heart went aflame.

Hope bloomed inside Caroline's chest. And a warmth she tried to exile from her heart. She should hate him. She must hate him. Love had nothing to do with their story. Not with _her_ story anyway. She would not allow it. Because no promises of love and especially of a love long gone could ever excuse what Klaus had done to her and yet she could not help but feel that traitorous hope. If Klaus had loved her and if despite everything deep down a buried part of him still loved her maybe there was a window of opportunity. To make him feel. To make him come back. To kick start his broken heart and make it beat again. All she had to do was uncover and unbury that part of him that still cared.

"If that is true…I could-"

"No you really couldn't," Adelaide tiredly waved off Caroline's hope after dropping that truth-bomb at her feet, "and certainly not in the next 24 hours. Klaus is set on this. You could try but he would not turn it back on. He will not. Not for centuries at least," she casually said making Caroline's despair rise again, "and do you really think that after all that time there will be anything left for him to return to?"

"There won't be anything left for me either," Caroline uttered.

"Probably not," the witch agreed.


	13. Howling at the Moon

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Hints of** **b**_ _ _ **estiality.**__

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

The Ritual | Part I

x

Caroline looked up to the falling curtain of the sky. Stardust was already glittering in her eyes that while unfocused seemed to turn everything to a psychedelic picture. The distance between her and the clouds seemed to be diminishing. Could she reach them if she lifted her hand to touch them? She tried to focus on the dancing exploding colors that whirled before her eyes as she counted the moments that passed by unrelentingly. The magic-induced dizziness was taking her breath away. Soon the sun would set and in a few hours the full moon would follow and with it the ritual. Caroline could swear that in the far distance she could already hear the howling of wolves as also the beating of drums. A beat of destiny and power that promised violence and blood but also primal emotion and longing. Desire ignited deep inside Caroline's belly and made her whole body already burn.

She leaned back into the dark blue and black waters and closed her eyes with a sigh. More color was exploding under her eyelids. She could hear the hushing scheming whispers of the witches that were already dancing and lounging at the elevated deck. The smell of blood and burned meat was already hovering in the air along with the scent of burning herbs, salt and sulfur. There were also female werewolf servants participating in the feast.

Caroline vaguely remembered that after her discussion with Adelaide more of Klaus' witches had entered the room and started preparing her for the ritual. They had given her a cup of tea and told her that she had to drink it and she had taken the cup in her hands with a series of curses yelling inside her mind screaming at her to not do it. But she knew that when it came to Klaus she could not simply not go through with the ritual. She knew he had prepared everything and that his witches could force her to go along with it.

Caroline's eyes filled with tears as she remembered that everything had started with another ritual also. This was coming full circle. Katherine had turned her a long time ago as an offering for the ritual to break Klaus' Hybrid curse. She was meant to be her sacrifice and die in his hands. This was why Klaus had come to Mystic Falls in the first place. She wouldn't have met him otherwise and his web of influence was what caught her in its glue as if she was a moth that was drawn to the fire. She wouldn't have been turned to a vampire if it was not for Klaus. He was shaping endless lives and setting them on a different course either directly or indirectly. He was like a comet that was falling on them and she was now caught in his orbit. _His mate_. Eternally bound to his side.

Tonight another ritual would change her destiny once more. She had managed to avoid the first but she had not managed to escape Klaus. He was inevitable. She knew that he would not kill her tonight but she felt as if he was sacrificing her anyway. Adelaide had been right. The price she had to pay was too big and she could not risk Klaus' retribution if she tried to make him turn it back on and failing to do so. He would lash out and he would hurt her mom and everyone she cared for. Most of them probably did not care for her but she still did and she would hate to see the people she care for get tortured and die at the hands of Klaus Mikaelson.

She had to play along for now. And somehow find a way to turn this around later. There had to be a way. Every curse could be broken after all. Klaus himself had proved this to her and somehow she had to find a way through their connection to reach out to him and bring him back. She trusted him enough to know that when the time to turn it back would come he would stop from destroying them both. She would never forgive him but she could trust at least that. If he ever came back that is. If she could hold on to his thin slice of humanity that was buried underneath all those tons of pain and darkness and pull him back from his abyss.

She had relented eventually and once she had drunk a few sips from the tea they gave her her bad mood had vanished. It was as if the commotion around her did not matter and everything started to move in slow motion. Adelaide stepped forward and started giving instruction in a stern authoritative voice that left no room for debate or error. After that the witches gave her to wear a satin robe and had led her out of the room. They had taken her to one of the terraces to the upper levels of the estate. More witches were already waiting there. Klaus was nowhere to be seen but magic was dancing on every step she was taking.

Women dressed in dark beige strappy halter dresses where throwing incense all around. They were chanting and twirling and holding hands as they hummed their incantations. It was as if everything was slowly coming to life except Caroline that felt as if she was drowning to inertia. The flavor of the tea still warmed her tongue.

Once the cold air hit her heated skin Caroline felt as if her heart would burst out of her chest but instead of being able to speak she felt her head lolling to the side as the witches started removing her robe. She had tried to complain but it was as if her bloodstream had turned to a thick heavy liquid that turned her whole body to metal.

The witches had helped her get into the pool and lie back. The pressure of the water pushed her up while waves and splashes of the scented water licked her naked body and she floated on it looking with wary eyes at the sky. She had never done anything like this before and usually she was not comfortable with flaunting her nudity to strangers even if they were only women but right now she did not seem to mind.

Witches and werewolves were coming and going. Some of the witches were casting spells and lighting up candles and fires in the cauldrons that were set around the plateau. Endless flickering flames that seemed to illuminate the whole area and compete with the daylight that was about to give its place to the starry night. Their sparks were also casting magic all around. It was as if the fires were singing and crying and laughing and it made Caroline's heart ache. A tear fell from her eyes as she moved her hands and glided on the water that sloshed over her drenched skin. Water and mist seemed to rise and embrace her as she lied on their surface and bathed in their moist. Her eyelids were heavy and were slowly fluttering close before opening again and gazing at the sky in a haze.

So here she was, inside a sunken bathtub on the east outdoors' terrace decking. The stone platform was literally build as an extension of one of the mansion's patio balconies and it seemed to hung from the very edge of the mountain Klaus' castle was built in. The view was spectacular. The snowy mountains with the dripping ice and the endless trees covered in the white that reflected all the colors of the setting sun were stretching endlessly in the horizon. Underneath was the abyss and above them the skies that would soon be adorned with countless stars and a full moon that would reach its apex. The main ingredient for tonight's ritual. Caroline however could not appreciate the view or the magic of the night as literal magic was shimmering everywhere around her. Around and inside her.

She seemed to be shrinking more into herself as she floated inside the hot water that filled the stone tub. Water that sprang in cascading rivulets and streamed inside the tub creating ripples around her body.

Klaus' witches had scented the water with oils and salts they had enchanted and Caroline already felt more and more lightheaded and dazed. Her core was awaking to pleasure jolts that attacked her belly.

Steam and smoke was rising from the water and one of the witches was slowly washing her hair with a milky liquid from a bowl that was relaxing her despite all the anxiety that was blooming inside her.

When Adelaide started to prepare her for tonight's event she was a bundle of nerves but when they shed her robe and helped her get into the water she somehow felt as if her resolve was dissolving. She could feel the inferno of the magic and the witches slowly hummed and danced and threw rose and aconite petals in the water. There were more witches gathered at the patio that Caroline had ever seen before in this place. Some of them had the distinct scent of wolves too. They laughed and sang and Caroline felt as if she was about to fall in a slumber.

She blinked and tried to push back the glazed stupor that seemed to be gripping every inch of her mind when she heard the sound of heels on wood and stone. The tempo was strong and Caroline through the mist of the waters saw Adelaide reaching at the tub. She walked confidently. She held a crystal flute filled with white wine and eventually she stood next to the waters that licked the decking and gazed at the mountains that expanded ahead under the amethyst colors of the looming sunset.

The witch had changed her clothes. She now wore a gold trimmed halter grey dress and an elegant golden diadem on top her black hair.

When Adelaide threw aconite leaves in the scented water Caroline expected to feel the same threat as she always did when it came to anything this woman did but instead she felt at ease somehow; as if her previous discussion with _Adelaide Richelieu_ had happened a long time ago.

Adelaide carefully crouched down at the edge of the tub. She ran her fingers at the water and Caroline felt the tang of powerful magic hitting her skin.

"How are you feeling Caroline? Relaxed?" the witch asked in comforting tone and Caroline nodded. She swam closer to Adelaide and faced her. Her body hovered inside the tub, the water licking her shoulders and neck. Her wet hair clung on her back and Caroline felt weightless.

"Good," Adelaide smiled and Caroline found herself smiling back.

"You remember every instruction I gave you for tonight?" Adelaide questioned sternly and Caroline hummed and moved her arms under the water languidly.

Nonetheless Adelaide started talking about the ritual again demanding her full attention. She guided her through every detail and asked her to repeat what she had to do. Caroline was trying to take in everything Adelaide was telling her and somehow she felt the need to please both the witch and Klaus. To be perfect tonight.

"Now let us go back to the mating rite after the ceremony," Adelaide continued with an emotionless typical voice.

Caroline watched Adelaide through hooded eyes. Her body was twitching under the water. Ecstasy and nadaville. Her every pore, her every part was reacting to the narcotic sensations that assaulted her.

"I am afraid it will be extremely animalistic and a bit painful for you but alas…you are a vampire," Adelaide assured her and Caroline frowned. This was not right. Why would see feel pain when all she felt now was pleasure? Her whole body seemed to be thrumming with a newfound need that only promised satisfaction.

"You will survive this. And no matter what, Niklaus won't allow anything to compromise your survival," Adelaide solemnly guaranteed and Caroline inhaled more from the steam and the vapors but somehow her body was starting to convulse. It was as if her mind was starting to push back against the fog.

Maybe it was the foreboding tone of Adelaide's words or maybe it was a small part of her that still retaliated against the magic. She felt trapped inside her body. She had not felt like this _since_ -

The memories hit her like a punch in the gut.

She had not felt this mindless and so trapped ever since Damon Salvatore had compelled her to be his sex and blood slave.

Caroline shook her head. The memories were coming back and this time she held on to them. This time she did not try to forget. This time she did not try to hide from them. Maybe this was her survival mechanism but this time she focused on what Damon Salvatore did to her. It was her saving grace this time and her emotional trigger guiding her through this confusing maze of sluggishness. Her only way to fight back against the opiate magic. Every word Adelaide's mouth was sprouting was replaced with the voice of Damon Salvatore.

 _'You're the stupid thing here, and shallow, and useless.'_

Her tears hit the surface of the waters. She trembled. Her stomach churned.

She had promised herself. _Never again._ To not become a victim ever again. To not become powerless and a puppet on a sadist's string ever again. To not allow anyone to abuse her like this ever again. And here she was.

She quivered inside the water when Adelaide's voice reached her ears once more. She was still talking.

God. She was still talking. She had to stop talking. She had to-

"I am not sure how he will react in his wolf form however," Adelaide concluded -whatever it was that she was saying- by waving her hand carelessly.

Wait a minute there.

Caroline's eyes snapped open. Realization and dread dawning on her.

"What is _that_ suppose to mean?" Caroline demanded angrily and noticed the surprised look in the witch's eyes. It was as if she had caught _Adelaide Richelieu_ off guard. The witch did not seem to like this kind of lucidity in Caroline's eyes.

Adelaide ran her fingers inside the waters again but this time Caroline gritted her teeth refusing to give in to this dark magic. She heaved and glared at Adelaide. This time she could not hold back her honest reaction. This time everything hurt.

More steam rose from the water. Caroline _focused_ on her old memories more.

 _'Are you gonna kill me_? _..._ _Hmm-mmm.'_

"Well I was never fond of bestiality to be honest but who knows. Nature has created beasts and mates for a reason."

"Bestiality?" Caroline screech echoed all around and the witches and the werewolves looked at her bewildered by her negative reaction.

This was so damn surreal. Suddenly Caroline woke up completely and almost jumped out of the water. She noticed how Adelaide pointed a serious look at some of the witches that immediately started throwing more herbs inside the waters. However Caroline did not care for this right now. She was one hundred percent alert and sure as hell she had do not signed on for that!

"You can't possibly mean.." Caroline stuttered and her nails dug in the wood at the outside rim of the tub. Adelaide shrugged.

The bitch just shrugged nonplused. Caroline felt the edge of her fangs piercing her gums.

"It is a possibility. Usually mates are both wolves and they tend to mate in both human and wolf form. Especially in their claiming they interchange their forms repeatedly."

Caroline gaped at Adelaide and looked up. The sky was darkening more. Time was running out. This could not be happening to her.

"Niklaus however is a hybrid mated with a vampire. I have no idea how he will react," Adelaide concluded and Caroline felt bile rising in her throat. No way in hell, no!

Bestiality? Having sex with Klaus was one thing. Even under these screwed up circumstances, but having sex with...a beast? A wolf?

She went completely and unnaturally still when she remembered the night Klaus' had shackled her in his dungeon and turned into a wolf. The night he got convinced she was his mate.

The memory was still vivid in her mind.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Her lips quivered when Klaus started licking her whole face slowly. He started sniffing. Inhaling her scent. He started licking the blood from her skin. It was gross and she was afraid to even breathe._

 _She tried to move and at that attempt the massive canine find its way between her legs._

 _The wolf settled between her thighs and covered her whole naked body. His paws rested on the inner side of her legs and she felt his claws scratching her skin cautiously. He was not breaking her skin. He was not hurting her but she felt the sharpness of those claws and Klaus pushed his muzzle against her neck. It felt intimate, ominous and unsettling. Her whole body was tingling. She felt heat rising on her skin. It made her feel uncomfortable and nervous. She felt restless and self-conscious and so miserable and weary. It was as if her mind could not translate what was happening._

 _Caroline felt as if she was hyperventilating now. She tried to take deep breaths as her heart was pounding faster and faster. She tried to move but she felt Klaus claws ready to dig into her skin and he growled against her neck. She felt his tongue lick her ear and her neck. His fangs grazed the column of her throat and she clenched her eyes shut. One bite and it would be over._

 _She moaned in fear and the she felt the wolf moving even closer. This was so wrong. It felt wrong. It felt inhuman._

 _She felt him retracting his claws but his paws kept sliding on her skin and on the blood that painted it. The body of the wolf felt so heavy. And then she felt him taking a step back and she almost took a relieved breath but then the wolf lowered his muzzle and his tongue attacked her breasts. Her nipples hardened at the sensation as the wolf feasted on the soft curves without breaking her skin._

 _Caroline's eyes widened as she finally realized what was actually happening. He was not just licking the blood from her skin._

 _He was…hell no!_

 _No way! She started thrashing against her restraints and tried to push the wolf away and close her legs. Bile rose in her mouth and dread filled her whole. Her body started convulsing as the wolf's jaws starting snapping in front of her face. He was ready to tear her apart. He was growling and barking. His hair was now standing up. So was his tail and ears. His fangs were bare and too close on her skin. Sweat, blood and the wolf's saliva was running down her body. On her body that felt taunt, aching and also hot and cold._

 _She breathed out Klaus' name into the darkness and the thin air but the wolf was not stopping._

* * *

Hot and cold sweat covered her body and Caroline cringed at the memory. And from the looks of it this time she would not be able to get out of this horror. The mere thought petrified her.

"I won't do this. No!" she uttered mortified.

She was growing scared and restless but then she felt another powerful rush of magic attack her forcing her to relax once more as some of the witches threw even more oils and petals in the water and created more steam around her. They joined hands and created a circle around the pool and chanted under their breath.

Caroline looked desperately at the coven and the more she was breathing the smoke in the more she was becoming unconcerned with everything all over again. They were drugging her. Caroline shook her head realizing that this was what they were doing for hours and she tried to get a grip to reality. For the first time Klaus' lessons helped and she forced herself to become alert and to not allow her senses to be dulled. The vampire inside her woke and her instincts prevailed. She had to get out of the water. Hell she had to get out of this damn mess all together.

"You do not have a choice on the matter I am afraid," Adelaide dismissed her concerns all together and Caroline coughed as the spelled water wrapped around her like a vice.

She could barely move now.

"Don't do this. Don't let him do this to me," Caroline muttered feeling her limbs going numb again. Her eyes pleaded with Adelaide that sighed and told the witches to stop what they were doing.

The witches took a step back, stood silent but did not break the circle. But Caroline could move again and she breathed out relieved.

"Let him have you," Adelaide told her gravely, "eventually he will become more lenient with you and it will be much better to go through an eternity with better conditions...considering the alternative anyway. You are too young to understand this but better to live your long years in the hell you will chose and set in your measure than in a hell you would have never wished to have seen and lived. Trust me on this."

Adelaide advise was given with a commanding tone and Caroline gnawed her lower lip with sharp teeth.

"Besides it can't be all that bad. He is still Niklaus Mikaelson. If anything After a thousand years his skills in that department are legendary. I know."

Despite the dire predicament she was in Caroline felt a spark of possessive jealousy ignite in her. It was as if the waters were feeding the green monster in her. But it was more than that. It was running deeper. It was as if the magic in the waters was gripping on things that already existed in her and were forcing them to come out violently.

"Ah, and there it is," Adelaide laughed, "That interest right here. That might be able to actually save you in the long run."

"What do you mean?" Caroline asked, her brow furrowing more.

Adelaide dismissed the rest of the witches that went back to the celebrations leaving them alone.

"You want him." the witch coyly noticed and the smirk that appeared on her lips was nothing less than sinister.

Caroline gasped and hatred filled her heart once more defying the magic's ongoing onslaught.

"I hate him!" Caroline snapped feeling the dark veins of her true nature coming out to play. Her fangs were about to descend.

Klaus was set on destroying her. He had her trapped and tortured her and took away everything from her. He kept abusing her and had put her on a magical leash with the internal locator spell. Most of all he threatened those that she loved and even tonight he was going to put her through a horrific ordeal that would leave her damaged and bound to him forever. There were no words to describe what she truly felt for that sociopath. She did not care if he had his emotions on or off anymore. This was not an excuse. He was a monster and the only thing that would keep her going after tonight would be her hate and her need to find a way to make him pay. Either it would take a decade or a century or her whole forever in the end she would break him in all the ways he was breaking her now. Even if she had to sacrifice her own humanity in doing so.

"Hate. Love. The line is so very thin dear. Contrary to popular belief those two can actually coexist. But that want you feel for him…this can become his demise. If used properly," Adelaide alluded cryptically and Caroline focused on the witch. Her enigmatic answers were confusing. She knew that Adelaide was Klaus' trusted witch and yet sometimes she spoke and acted as if she was on her side. That would be impossible of course. Adelaide Richelieu was already her enemy and Klaus' weapon against her.

"I do not understand," Caroline mumbled and Adelaide smiled amused.

"You will. Eventually."

"Can you stop talking in riddles please?" Caroline bit out. She had no more patience to play these games. Not with the full moon approaching so fast. Not with what was about to happen soon.

Adelaide sighed and eyed her with dark eyes.

"You are his _mate_ Caroline. Let that sink in. Do not fight it."

"I-"

" _You_ have power over him," Adelaide intoned and Caroline arched her brow intrigued. She already knew she had power over Klaus. But only when he had his humanity switch on. What Adelaide was implying however was different.

"If not emotional then certainly sexual. Play it smart and you can use this to your advantage. You really should," the witch pointed out and Caroline did what she advised.

She let what that woman was saying sink in and she pondered what it truly meant. The implications. The possibilities. The things she would have to do in order to actually command that power. It was thrilling and terrifying but it was also making her feel _dirty_. This was not her. Adelaide's counsel was coming from a sadistic mind that rivaled Klaus'. If Caroline even considered what Adelaide was actually urging her to do then she would have to become as conniving as Klaus and Adelaide. As Damon and Katherine were.

She would have to use her body and whore out every part of her in order to lay out the perfect trap for Klaus. To win him in his game and to feast on his obsession and hybrid nature by using his animalistic attraction against him.

It felt like a betrayal. She would be betraying herself. All her ideals. All her sense of right and wrong. Everything she was. Knowingly giving herself to Klaus and becoming his victim because he forced her into a situation with no choices left was one thing. Becoming his whore by choice with ulterior motives was another. Despite her deal with Klaus and everything that had happened between them she was in love with Tyler and this did not sit well with her. There had to be another way. But... it could work. This was what she truly wanted was it not? To take revenge and free herself from Klaus. To make him pay. What better way than to control him and one up him in his own game?

Caroline gulped down, her fingers digging into her palms so hard that drops of blood dripping and swirled inside the water.

"I don't want that kind of power," Caroline denied, but her tone lacked conviction. Adelaide just snorted at that.

"You are lying."

"I-"

"You are drawn to power," Adelaide dared her to refuse what she was saying and Caroline chose to say nothing at that.

"You have the same hunger Niklaus always had for wanting more. You do remind me of him in certain ways. Maybe this is what drew him to you in the first place. To find a companion made of the same heart," Adelaide divulged and Caroline felt weak. Klaus had told her once that they were the same but in this particular scenario being the same with Klaus would lead only to tearing herself apart.

"This power can be yours only if you accept it and understand all its potential," Adelaide motivated her, "and after the _mark_? Let us say that you will get to taste more. Much more. And if you are smart you can have it all," the witch challenged Caroline.

Caroline focused only on one word.

"What _mark_?"

No one had spoke of a mark so far. They kept preaching about the ritual and going through every detail and telling her what she would have to do tonight but no one mentioned a mark!

The smile Adelaide gave her was all teeth and mystery.

"You will see."

Caroline had enough of this! Speaking with riddles and having Klaus' witch promise her things that would never happen was nothing more than one of Klaus' traps. One that meant to subdue her. One more mind game in order for her to play his game and do what he wanted her to do. Starting from tonight.

The more Adelaide blabbed about power and control the more the witches were infusing the waters with magic. Strong magic that was now starting to turn to something more.

It was like an aphrodisiac Caroline realized horrified. She was turning horny. Really really aroused. The more Adelaide talked the more time passed and the more the magic was working its way into her body and mind. This had to stop. She had to get out of this tub. If she could not avoid the ritual she could at least have a clear mind while it happened.

"No I won't!" Caroline cursed and tried to get out of the water but Adelaide abruptly waved her hand and Caroline's neck snapped.

Adelaide watched Caroline's body fall inside the pool and slowly disappearing under the surface. The magic of the scented waters wrapped the blonde vampire and gripped her tightly infusing her body with its power.

It was impressive how such a young vampire was able to resist such strong magic. It only assured Adelaide that she was right in assuming that this girl would be Niklaus' Achilles heel. His weakness. But no matter how strong Caroline Forbes was the power of the moon and of the waters that now embraced her still body were stronger. Ancient magic steeped in the old ways of witches and werewolves. One that no one could resist and how much more a woman born in the Original Hybrid's bloodline.

When Caroline would emerge out of the waters again she would be unconcerned about everything aside her maddening desire to join her mate.

* * *

Klaus' witches stripped and joined Caroline in the pool. Caroline felt no shame. It was a weirdly liberating sensation and once more Adelaide's words got lost in the haze that had encased her into a mindless fog. It was as if she was falling deeper into a mist that clouded her mind.

The women bathed her; they scrubbed her body with aphrodisiac scents and lathered her skin with enchanted oils and pheromones. Caroline felt her whole body throbbing with renewed desire. Her belly ached. Between her thighs moist fire was erupting. Her breasts felt heavy and her breath was erratic. She felt a carnal need building and taking over her inhibitions. She had not felt so free and without shame ever since the night Klaus had compelled her and yet now this felt different. It was as if she was inebriated with pure sheer joy and demanding lust. Her body felt taut, her instincts were pulled on tight strings.

Images invaded her mind. Erotic flashes. She felt so hot.

She remembered Klaus' hands and lips on her body. She remembered how his body felt against hers. She moaned as she saw beneath heavy lids memories of their first time in the woods. She felt as if her whole body was ready to bend and twist. Her bones seemed as if they weighted a tone and were ready to twist and break. She felt as if Klaus was already thrusting inside her heat and she wanted to scream. She could feel him. She could feel him between her legs. She could feel him inside her.

Water cascaded down her body when she stepped out of the pool and she smiled as she stared at the nightfall.

Steam was rising from her skin and she felt the sting of green leaves whipping her body taking away the drops of water and drying her skin while also leaving their scent and magic on her. Caroline spread her legs and hands letting the witches prepare her body with herbs and ink. They drew symbols on her skin. Complicated patterns. Twirling lines of blue and black ink. A call to the old. Wolf runes and ancient incantations.

When they were done drops of spelled perfume fell like rivulets over the ink and her skin that shone under the appearing moon behind the clouds.

Caroline allowed herself to get pampered and completely forgot the reason why they were preparing like this. In the back of her mind a voice screamed at her to react. It raged on fighting through the haze yelling to her that she didn't really want to be doing this tonight. But that voice was buried under layers and layers of magic that clouded her mind. All Caroline knew was that her whole body ached and vibrated. All she knew was that she needed to be with Klaus. To give herself to him. To let him have her. To mate with him. She was in heat and she craved release.

The witches dressed her. The soft fabric of the dress felt heavenly on her skin and cool on the heat of her flesh. White and sleeveless. Regal. The grenadine lace was the most beautiful thing that had ever wrapped her body. The wide skirt reached her knees and the beautiful blue ribbon details were nothing less than lovely. The pale-blue satin sash belt under the low cut collar bodice hugged her tightly pronouncing her curves more.

The dress was made for royalty. It made her look innocent and was giving away the illusion of bridal beauty. The black ink swirled on her skin as if it was alive. It was slowly dancing on her flesh branding her with live magic and appeared blackest still under the white dress. The intricate designs were mysterious and enigmatic over her body as much as the dark kohl liner painting her eyes was.

Her lips were painted red and a white ribbon with pearls was carefully threaded throughout the classic French crown braid that pinned her hair elegantly just above her neck in an elegant updo. At the crown of her head a beautiful rose gold diadem adorned with kyanite and tourmaline stones was placed.

She then wore a pair of stunning barefoot beaded sandals with diamonds and pearls weaved into intricate lacy ribbons and chains on her feet. The jewels ended with bracelet rings that strapped around her middle toes and ankles and were connected with beautiful silver and diamond chains.

And yet despite the fact that was dressed like a princess and was ready to give herself without holding back and without any doubt her heart was screaming.

She was mourning she realized. She felt tears ready to fall on her cheeks and she felt all the light in her soul darkening into shadows. The darkness was becoming infinitely vast and was competing the black of the ink that marked her body. She felt as if her body was in fire but as if her heart was shrouded in ice.

There was no reason to feel like this. She wanted to be with Klaus. Her whole being screamed for him.

But there was no _love_. The love she craved ever since she knew her name. The love she felt for someone else. Someone she could not remember his name now. The only name she knew tonight was Klaus'.

She should not wear this dress like this. This should not be the way she would get walked down to an altar to meet the man her body was screaming for. This heathen ritual did not fit her old dreams. This felt empty as if no emotion could enter the maze of her maddening desire. This was only physical and so demanding that it made her body hurt. But it also felt dirty for some reason and yet the more she felt that way the more the tattoos on her skin moved and whispered in her ears. She wanted this. She wanted the moon and the stars and Klaus. She wanted to feel his hands on her body. To have him inside her. To feel his fangs pierce her skin and to have him drink from her. She wanted the man and the wolf and anything and everything in the between. Her desire had no beginning, no middle and no end. It was infinite.

She felt trapped between what her body and the magic commanded and the hole in her heart that stretched to a void that threatened to swallow her whole. This mental fight was breaking her piece by piece leaving away only the piece Klaus wanted.

The witches took hold of her hands and dragged her to their circle making sure that no more doubts and no more thoughts would keep troubling her. Caroline joined their dance and drank more of their tea that seemed to taste like wine now. She chewed on the raw meat and the melted honey.

Around and around she jumped and danced. She threw her head back and closed her eyes and allowed herself to become one with the melody of the drums that seemed to call her closer. It was primal, animalist and for the first time ever since she turned into a vampire she did not feel like one. She felt her skin heating up. Her blood was boiling inside her veins. She felt wild and untamed and she felt a magnetic pull as she looked up at the bright moon.

She barely heard one of the witches telling her that it was time. A flock of them gathered all around her and with smiles and excited whispers they started walking. Walking away from the terrace and down marble steps that were leading to the gardens and the paths towards the woods where the ceremony would take place.

She walked oblivious to the danger that seemed to be looming closer. She felt weightless and boneless and happy. The need to be with Klaus was building inside her more and more. There was genuine beauty in this need. It was building into an ascend. A crescendo of fever and hunger. It was rising. More demanding, more loud, more grand. It was reaching its peak and Caroline felt as if her body was about to explode. She felt a sob blocking the air that could not reach her lungs. She felt as if her skin was raw and exposed and each step she was taking it was bringing her closer and closer to her destiny.

The beautiful dress flowed around her thighs, that were coated with her dripping arousal, as if it was wind and clouds and yet she felt naked.

She could no longer see the open expanse of the night sky or the mountains with the icy peaks. Along with the retinue of the witches she walked past the canopy of trees and closer to the bonfires. She was pulled closer to the site where the beginning of the ritual would commence and it was if an imaginary chain was wrapped around her body and was controlling her movements.

The sorrow was gone. Her chest burned. She felt a kind of thirst she had never felt before. It was wilder than her desire for blood. Her skin tingled and hummed with an urge she had not felt before. She felt half. She felt incomplete. She felt the need to be filled. To submit. To allow violence and passion to drive her.

Everything she ever wanted was coming closer. Caroline had never felt like this ever before in her life. All the fear and the pain had gone away. She felt free and certain. It was as if fate was calling her.

As they reached the clearing where the ceremony would begin the fire burned bright in cauldrons and then it was if the sound of wind was filtering music. Witches were chanting and Caroline felt as if every memory she ever had was obliterated. Her bones felt warm and as if their elasticity was reaching its breaking point.

Caroline held her breath. She let herself to be carried away. She let the magic ravage her more and she felt the thrumming desire between her legs rising up and up into a wet pool of mania.

The shaman was already waiting in the altar.

And then she heard it and stilled. It was as if life abandoned her and her desire got replaced with dread.

The two witches next to her put their hands on her shoulders and pushed her down until she kneeled on the cold ground. Silence prevailed. Caroline shivered and held back a moan. She had never felt so erotically stimulated before in her whole life but this felt so wrong. So twisted and perverse.

Caroline heard that sound again and it woke her up completely. Her muscles violently clenched and her anger got rekindled. Her raging lust remained but her drugged induced happiness disintegrated before her eyes and her every sense became in sync with her surroundings as realization dawned on her. This was actually happening. Tonight. Now.

Caroline gasped when she heard howling coming closer. Closer and closer.

The mating ritual was about to begin.


	14. Hung the Moon

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story is very dark and includes graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Bestiality, torture, rape, abuse, non consensual themes, graphic scenes of abusive and sexual content.**_

 _^ The warnings in this story exist for a reason. Please take them under consideration before you read the chapters. This story is not categorized as a romance. It is prominently based in the horror genre and secondly in the drama category._

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

The Ritual | Part II

x

Fire torches and hanging candlelight lanterns on trees and wooden rods had turned the night into an illusory painting as if starlight had fallen to earth and shimmered above the snow with the stalactite icicles shedding flickering light into the darkness.

Caroline waited with bated breath and then a tingling burning sensation spread to her whole body. Her heart raced. Quickly. A thunderous melody was starting to beat inside her. The dry feeling in her throat turned to fire when she looked up. The terrifying howling turned to silence and her vampire hearing could clearly hear the dirt giving way under heavy paws and light steps.

Fear got replaced with need again. She felt weightless once more and the maddening desire stabbed her everywhere at once and she had to clench her legs shut to stop herself from moaning out loud.

She stilled when past the frost and the trees that led to the dark woods Klaus appeared. From the same woods where they had sex for the first time. Her skin flamed up at the memories that passed through her eyes. She could see their limbs entangled. She could feel Klaus thrusting inside her. She could taste the blood in her tongue. The kiss on her lips.

The world was shifting from its axis again. It was as if the stars were falling. The winds blew with whispers calling her to go closer. To give herself to the demanding hunger. Flesh to flesh. Body to body.

Caroline felt the veins under her eyes pulsate. The light from the small dangling candles and from the torches were creating games of shadows over Klaus' face and body. Moonlight was bouncing over him and his wolves as he sauntered closer to the shaman at the stones where the ritual would begin. Bonfires were set around the stones. More were lit in circles around the sight and witches and werewolves in human form for now were dancing around them. As if they were in heat and a trance. As if this was a celebration.

The fires raged and so did the primal dancing.

The scenery would be idyllic and romantic even if Caroline did not know any better. And it would surely be less horrific if compelled vampires and humans were not on their knees silently waiting to be sacrificed in the ritual.

The chants from the witches became louder.

Caroline's eyes travelled over Klaus' body. He was wearing a simple tunic that reached his knees. Simple trousers underneath. Both in the same color with the dress she was wearing. White.

Two enormous wolves were by his side. _Werewolves._ The seemed...domesticated despite their terrifying appearance. Klaus was caressing them like a whisperer and they purred at his touch.

Caroline remained frozen on her spot mesmerized by that image but then their eyes met and the world stopped before it exploded inside her. She got up in a trance. Her body was not obeying her. Her mind got completely separated from her instincts. She felt the ink of the runes the witches had painted on her body move. It was as if every molecule of paint was a living sentient thread that connected her with Klaus and wanted to pull her forward.

Klaus kept his gaze locked with hers as he stood by the shaman and waited.

"Go to him" one of the witches behind her nudged her and Caroline felt her legs move. One step after the other until she reached the stone circle where Klaus was waiting for her.

He extended his hand at her and she intertwined her fingers with his and stepped up the stones. They stood face to face, shoulder to shoulder, gazing directly into each other's eyes.

Klaus' eyes roamed over her body slowly and she felt tingles of desire spread all over.

He cupped her face with his hand and Caroline's eyes glossed over. His touch was setting her body alight. As if electricity was passing into her bloodstream. She felt an ache deep in her heart that hurt her. Why couldn't this touch be real? His eyes glistened in the bluest shade of blue but there was no emotion inside them. Only animalistic dominance. Caroline could sense Klaus' wolf even though he was holding back his transformation. But even his scent had changed. It was more musky. More earthy.

Klaus leaned over close and his lips brushed against her ear.

"An Alpha's mate and more so an Original's shows no fear," he told her with an unyielding steel in his voice preparing her for what was about to come.

She glared at him and he smirked.

"Better," he praised and the husk in his voice made her weak in the knees as whatever magic that had inflicted on her earlier still weaved desire in her loins.

Klaus let her go and turned his face at the shaman that was silently waiting beside them.

"Begin," he commanded the old man that bowed with respect in front of Klaus. Caroline took in a sharp breath as the ritual began. She stared at the sky. The moon was rising.

The moment the old man rose his hands in the air and started speaking in an old dialect Caroline could not recognize she heard...cracking.

All around them the werewolves that danced around the bonfires fell on their knees and started twisting. Their bones were breaking. They kept dancing and crawling on the snow and the dirt around the fires as their transformation began.

The wolves Klaus had brought with him remained curled at his feet but Caroline was not afraid. Not even when their glowing eyes focused on her. Not when those beasts sniffed at her direction and rose their heads.

She realized that soon she would be surrounded by beasts that would yearn to tear her apart but the only monster she truly feared and wanted was the man that was standing in front of her. And she could tell that Klaus wanted to turn. He was barely holding back.

The wolves left Klaus' side and started walking around the stone circle. Around her and Klaus. Caroline felt like prey to them but did not take her eyes away from Klaus. His warning still ringing in her ear. To show no fear. He did not want her dead. That would be an easy way out Caroline thought with bitterness. What he wanted from her in his emotionless insanity was far worse.

The old man next to them started whispering words in a second language Caroline did not understand. The ink over her body started to swirl. Her skin tightened and she felt even the magic from the internal locator spell hum inside her. The wolves howled and fixated their eyes on her.

Caroline watched mesmerized as Klaus' wolves started circling her menacingly. Their fur brushing against her legs. Her instincts screamed to her to run but she stood motionless.

The shaman seemed to be in a hypnotic state now as he mumbled incoherent words and Caroline blinked when Klaus' fingers twisted. Claws pushed out just as the wolves jumped towards her.

Caroline had no time to react as Klaus leaped forward and tore the wolves apart with his fangs and claws. His eyes shone golden and blood splattered. Her white dress got tainted with the blood of wolves that splashed all over her body and face. She remained rooted at her side and for some reason watching the carnage Klaus created in her name made her whole skin tingle. Bloodlust invaded her nostrils as Klaus rose and stood in front of her again. He was bathed in blood. Mangled flesh and blood dripped from his mouth and fangs. His chin was coated with the remnants of the wolves he had devoured before he laid their carcasses at her feet as a mating gift.

Caroline barely watched as the witches collected the remains of the wolves and threw them on the coals. Their heads ended in pikes behind her and Klaus. A token of his undying devotion and promise to always protect her for those that would aim to harm her or claim her from him.

Around them the rest of the pack that had gathered in the woods started to shift to animal form. Slowly.

The witches drove blades inside the hearts of the compelled vampires and humans using their sacrifices as unification ingredients for the ritual.

The moment their lifeless bodies dropped in the ground and their blood was collected in laurel leaves the shaman stopped his mumbling and the crackling of fire was the only thing breaking the silence as even the moans of pain from the turning werewolves seized. The scent from the roasting meat of the dead wolves should be making her ill but for some reason it was enticing.

The witches sprinkled them with drops of blood as they yanked the laurel leaves at them while a luxurious heavy ribbon was wrapped around hers and Klaus' wrists tying them together. Skin on skin and Caroline felt fire. Fire and desire within.

Caroline heaved and as the moon rose more into the sky she felt a pull she had never felt before. Her bones ached as if they were about to twist and break. Her skin stretched over her bones and her legs trembled. It was as if the magic from the transformation of every wolf on sight was directly aimed straight into her.

When the shaman asked her if she accepted this union it was as if she had flown outside of her body and watched herself accept. She watched in a reverie as Klaus did the same.

But when she stepped closer to the man in front of her every instinct of hers became aware.

Caroline eyes' filled with lust and desire when Klaus brought his free wrist in front of her mouth reminding her that she had to do the same. Their fangs plunged in each other's wrists at the same time and Caroline greedily drank his blood. The moment the metallic taste hit her tongue she moaned. The ink in her body sizzled. The veins under her eyes danced and her eyes fluttered open only to watch Klaus' intense gaze locked on her as they both drunk from each other. The fires were casting light over them. Blood dripped from their mouths. Veins throbbed in their faces. Klaus' venom burned as he bit hard into her skin but his blood was also the cure. Caroline could smell and taste of the wolves he had destroyed in his blood. Their blood was mixed with Klaus' blood and so was hers now.

Her thighs were becoming increasingly sticky with her heavy arousal that filled the air and Klaus' growled against her wrist and bit her harder. Her eyes turned into liquid blood as his turned into a harsh gold.

The shaman placed his hands over their heads and blessed their union and she whined when she had to pull back and stop drinking from Klaus.

She could swear that her eyes burned and she licked her lips from the excess blood. She wanted more. So much more. So much more as she accepted the moon as her guide and Klaus as her eternal mate.

She saw his eyes fill with possession and hunger and her throat constricted. A part of hers was still resisting in incomprehensible rage and despair but Klaus' blood inside her body sang. The magic to which she had been induced for hours earlier forced her to comply. She felt disoriented and needy. An animalistic primal need that she had never felt before was gripping her tight inside throes of dark magic.

The witches around them chanted along with the shaman and Caroline knew that it was time. The drums started beating again. Faster and faster. Their tempo was increasing and more wolves were howling in the woods.

The werewolves around the bonfires now in their wolf forms howled at the moon. It was terrifying and magnificent at once.

The ribbon was cut with a knife dipped in water and salt and Caroline was escorted away from Klaus and the shaman by two witches.

She walked among the wolves that howled at her but she did not falter. And they did not attack her either. It was as if they sensed that she belonged to their Alpha and that she now had wolf blood inside her veins too and accepted her in their midst not as their mortal enemy but as a creature that would soon to be one of them.

From the corner of her eye she watched as Klaus walked towards the opposite direction from her. Most of the wolves running after him.

The witches kept dancing around the bonfire and the shaman started paying tribute in the moon by sacrificing more vampires and humans to sanctify the grounds.

Caroline felt tears gather in her eyes. Her mind was foggy. Magic was whispering inside her head that she wanted to do this. That she was happy to do this. That her body wanted and demanded release but deep down in her core she knew that this was not what she wanted. To willing sacrifice herself to an ancient mating ritual like a tribute and trophy to a madman was not what she wanted. It hurt and it burned and her body was not her own anymore. She was compelled by magic and darkness to obey and she felt powerless despite the rush of undiluted power that was now pumping inside her veins.

She kept her head high and watched the moon in the sky while she walked through the woods with the two witches behind her. More torches and lanterns were lit guiding her way as she proudly strode towards the east circle the witches had created deep inside the frozen woods. Snow was slowly falling and everything was covered in white. Snowflakes adorned her elegant hairdo.

The fires were swaying in the dark and the wind creating a mystical dreamy atmosphere. Her sandals softly scratched the snow and the dirt as she approached her circle. She knew that in the west side of the woods another circle was created for Klaus.

Caroline felt her body moving on its own. Moonlight was cast over the circle as Caroline reached the pagan priestess in the center of the salt and bone circle. She was beautiful and so very young.

Caroline wanted to scream but instead she smiled and willingly kneeled on the ground in front of the strange woman. She bowed her head and started reciting at heart the chant Adelaide had taught her calling for the moon and her mate. Every word was magic and the fires around the circle flickered. Caroline heard the howling from the distance and moaned in pain as her body twisted and fell on the ground. It was as if the magic she was subjected to was trying to force her to transform into a wolf but she was not a werewolf. Her bones broke again and again and healed over and over again as she kept chanting. It was excruciating.

The priestess above her chanted with her, her voice shrill and rising. The magic from the old tradition was coming alive again.

Blood poured out Caroline's mouth and her fangs dropped. The priestess smiled and took her face in her hands cupping her cheeks. She kissed her eyes gently. And Caroline blinked before her eyes popped open wide and she gasped. Her vision as a vampire was always extraordinary but for some reason now she could see far more clearly. She touched her eyes with her fingers and they burned and Caroline knew that should she had a mirror she would be facing with a set of gold irises.

The priestess kissed her gently on her trembling lips.

This is not possible she thought as her gums ached and another set of fangs elongated in her mouth.

"Don't be afraid child. Destiny is calling," the woman told her as she stepped away from the circle leaving her there on her knees.

Caroline looked up and saw Adelaide smiling at the priestess. Adelaide's hands were smeared with blood and the priestess gave her a nod before Adelaide spelled the circle into fire. Caroline flinched as heat and smoke rose all around her trapping her inside an inferno. Her body started sweating. Her heart started beating faster. She could see and hear everything much more clearly. She could taste venom in her mouth.

The moon felt as if it was close to her reach. She could feel the earth underneath the snow. She could sense every molecule of the frozen air. She lay on the snow amidst the flames and focused on the howling that was coming closer. Her nails burned. She wanted to tear her clothes and her skin. She writhed on the ground helplessly and she felt building fire in her belly. She had never felt like this before. It was painful. Maddening. She cried as every memory was obliterated from her mind and the only thing that was left was the carnal need.

She did not know how but she could feel Klaus turning. She felt his pain and his desire. She felt his bones break as if they were her own. She whimpered inside the fire circle and felt him turn into the wolf he hid under his skin. Tears sprang from her eyes. Her body convulsed in grotesque angles as if she was turning with him. The ink on her skin sizzled.

When the wolf finally broke loose Caroline could feel how Klaus finally fell at ease for a split second before his need for her took over every instinct and desire he had and she felt how much he wanted her. How much it hurt to want her so much. How animalistic that desire was. It had nothing human in it. It had no mercy. It was painful. It was a drive as old and as brutal as nature itself was.

Caroline's eyes burned and she whimpered. She felt Klaus wolf form breaking the magic of his fire circle and leaping through the flames. She felt the embers burning on his fur. She felt him fighting against the other wolves so to come to her and claim her. So to come and mate with her. Nothing could stand in his way.

He tore through the wolves piece by piece and Caroline felt it. She felt their spines break between Klaus' wolf fangs. He tore through fur and flesh. Sliced and mangled. She felt it all. Every scratch and savage clawing. She felt his skin tearing and his blood spilling on the snow, hissing on the frost. She felt as werewolves left their last breath under his paws and teeth. She felt it when Klaus emerged victorious despite the bites and the claw wounds he received and every pain he endured she endured it too and screamed for him. Her skin was pounding. Her heart was clenching. And her desire was building up more.

Time crept on and Caroline became more aware and more alert. She tried to call for help. Someone to help her wash away all that burning between her legs but instead her head snapped up as the howls became louder. But the louder they were turning the less in number were becoming. She could tell who belonged to Klaus. It was like a beat that resonated inside her. Like a second heart. Beating and beating and leading to a crescendo.

Caroline watched through pained eyes as Adelaide kept chanting with closed eyes inviting with her magic Klaus closer to the fire circle and Caroline gasped when three wolves leaped from the woods towards her circle.

Adelaide gave her a curt nod. It was starting. This was it.

Caroline barely heard the word the witch called in the night.

 _'Invisibilis.'_

Wind blew and with it Adelaide got lost in the night cloaked under her invincibility spell so to hide and protect herself from the deadly danger.. Her chanting however continued as if it was coming from above the sky travelling with the wind.

Anything that would come up Klaus' way tonight would be torn apart. Anything but her. Caroline stared up at the wolf. It was as if a vibrant cord between them was bringing them closer. The werewolves growled but Caroline could only hear one sound. One howling. The moon cast its shine brighter than ever.

Rivers of salty tears fell from Caroline's eyes and she stepped closer to the fire. The luminance and the heat illuminated her face and her hand reached for the flames. The magic locked her in but the barrier felt so thin. So thin to hide her from what was coming closer and from what she hid beneath her skin.

Her breath was caught in her chest as she stared at the brown wolf with the golden sandy fur. Twice as big as the other two black he fought viciously.

He had come to her.

Caroline gasped when one of the two wolves leaped at her circle as Klaus sank his fangs at the jugular of the other splattering his blood everywhere around him.

She stepped back terrified and Klaus' howl was not just inhuman this time. It was not even one of an animal. It was terror. She felt his rage. The idea of her getting hurt. Of another wolf claiming her before him. She stumbled back and fell.

The magic was still shielding her from them but she could not block out what Klaus felt. What his wolf felt. Nothing human. No emotion. Only instinct. How would she survive him? And why did she not care? How could she want this?

Klaus fought the last wolf. Time was running out. It was as if he had to win the challenge before he would mate with her and Caroline through the last remnants of her lucidity realized with dread that she would have to mate with Klaus in his wolf form if he would not transform back to his human body. She could feel it in her bones and in his. Adelaide's chants in the background only fed more their desire. Made it stronger. More potent. More dreadful.

God she couldn't do that! But the connection between them grew stronger winning against her voice in her head and readying her body for what it would soon come. She felt her body opening in anticipation. Blooming like a flower and shedding wider its petals.

She heard an animal whimpering. The last whimpers of life. Klaus had torn the last beast into shreds. More ferociously and with far more malice that he had done with the other wolves and then there they were. Him and her. The wolf and his mate.

The white skirt of the dress billowed all around her as Klaus prowled closer. The moon illuminated the blood on his fur more. It was like rubies gliding over liquid gold. Over muscled skin and obsidian claws. Blood and flesh dripped from his fangs as he howled and charged against the flames of her circle but he could not enter. The more he could not enter the more aggravated and wild he was becoming. He burned against the flames scratching at the magic barrier. The more he smelled her, her body, her blood, her juices that were running down her thighs the more he had to have her. The more he injured himself on the flames and all Caroline could do was watch him with wide eyes. Numb and lost. Feeling an ache she had never felt before. Not just a physical one but a sadness she could not name. The ink on her skin swirled. The runes stretched over her bones.

She then heard Adelaide's voice break through the darkness as Klaus' was becoming more and more frantic.

One word alone.

"Run!"

Caroline rose on her trembling feet.

Klaus was starting to break through the barrier but Caroline vaguely remembered that they had to mate in the spelled pentagram further into the woods. The one that witches had sanctified with werewolf bones and ashes. The one from where the full moon would appear the fullest.

As Klaus' mate she had to prove her worth and at least make it there so to make the magic of their bond stronger. Klaus had to hunt her. To win her. To make her submit. She had to present a challenge and despite her increasingly painful arousal she knew she would. This should not be happening but it would happen.

She turned her back at the wolf, his howl breaking her heart as she pushed herself beyond her limits. She threw herself at the flames knowing all too well that if she was not strong enough, if the fire magic would not yield then she would burn.

And burn she did. The witches from the far sides of the horizon lowered the flames but not enough for her to be able to walk out the circle unscathed.

Klaus was trying to reach her as the flames licked her skin and his jaws snapped just a fragment of a split hair from grabbing her ankle and drawing her to him.

Her dress caught on fire as did the edges of her hair. Caroline burned through the fire of the circle. She broke free. Her hair unbound, her dress in burning tatters. The night turned to moonlight and fire. Heat scorched her skin and the ink churned. It absorbed the fire and swallowed the smoke that rose out of her skin as a second scent. As mist and cloud.

She ran. So fast she ran.

Running and running. Running.

 _Running._

Sweat was dripping from her body. Her breathing was rugged. Her chest was tightening. White frost was escaping her mouth as she panted and ran. The clouds disappeared from the sky. The stars glimmered. The moon a bright disk in the dark heavens. Such a beautiful night. Such a beautiful dreadful night.

She ran. As if she had never ran before. Despite the mating and the magic a part of her was running for real. Because she knew that when Klaus would catch her he would never let her go. She had felt him tonight. She could still feel him as he roared behind her. That desire would not burn out like the embers that glowed incandescently in the night giving away their light to the snow. It was forever and it was so hot as it was cold. It was inhuman. It was primal. It had no mind or reason.

It was only instinct and monsters coming together. Nothing more. Nothing else. She could not become this. She could not give herself to this. Not like this.

Her legs were straining and despite the battle inside her the carnal desire that was forced upon her by magic and even by the darkest part of herself was leaving a pool of heat running down her legs and her vampire nature mingled with the magic that had latched on her skin and made her run faster. She wondered if Klaus could feel her as she could feel him and if he could why wasn't what she felt enough? Why wasn't enough to make him turn it back? Why was she not enough? Enough for someone to truly fight for her. To not hurt her. For someone to overcome their weakness and put her first. Just once. Not in the way they wanted but in the way she deserved? Why was always left hanging between the strength and the nightmares of stronger than her monsters? Why was her power not enough to save her from this? Why was Klaus not strong enough to keep up his promises not to hurt her? Why would she always be left alone to fend for herself in terror and torture?

The why became endless inside her. An endless scream. An endless howling. More savage than the wolf's that chased her.

She cried and felt her emotions swell and break the dam of her sanity. It was as if her switch had been so overwhelmed that she could not even turn it off no matter how much she wanted it to. No matter how easy it would make it for her. The magic, the spells, the mating had overcharged her emotional compass. She felt everything more. So more than it didn't feel like emotions anymore. Her body became empty and adrenaline flowed. She wanted this. To fuck and feel pain and anything to make the howling inside her stop.

She ran.

She could hear him at the distance. Advancing at her.

And now she could see and hear and move as if she was a hybrid and not a vampire. She was leaving traces behind for Klaus to find her and he was just a breath away. A terrifying chase.

They ran through the woods. So fast that their feet barely touched the snow. Her hair spilled all around her. The white of her dress a wave of light. Klaus was howling at her. Hunting her in his wolf form. Her hair got tangled at branches that scratched her face. Blood dribbled along with snow and leaves. She didn't stop. Her very soul depended on not getting caught.

The gap between them was shrinking. Klaus was pounding on the snow. Four legs cutting through the dirt. Claws knifing the ground.

Caroline gasped when the hem of her dress sliced like butter in Klaus' jaws.

She barely managed to throw herself at the right side as Klaus leaped at her. His claws tore her dress in ribbons and with it parts of her skin too. She yelled in agonizing pain and kicked him back agitating him even more. And still she managed to outrun him once more despite how terrifying he looked so close to her with his snapping jaws and his fangs ready to punish her for not submitting to him.

She ran for the last time as the pentagram appeared before them at the clearing beyond the tree lines. The moon filtered the shadows of the trees and Caroline felt as if her whole body would explode. The shredded material of her dress was slowly falling from her skin in pieces while parts of it stuck on the bleeding scratches.

She felt as if she would not make it. She could feel the wolf's breath near her. Hot at her ever step. It was inevitable that he would catch her and even though she knew that running into the pentagram was accepting that inevitability a part of her chose to be delusional and view it as her only salvation. Even if it would be a few seconds of stalling.

She leaped through the air. Her hair spilling in the wind gold like a halo. The wolf yipped as he followed her movement and their bodies tangled in midair. His canines ripped into her piercing through layers of flesh and rune magic.

Caroline screamed as the heavy fury body embraced her and its claws bit into her skin not allowing her to get away from him. They rolled over and fell into the enchanted bone ash structure with a thud.

Mist rose from the runes on her body and from the ground; the five edges of the pentacle vibrated in silver as if they absorbed the moonlight itself and cast it over the whole shape the witches have created turning it into a talisman of magic. The element of earth, the full moon, the wolf bones. And them.

Barriers of magic locked them inside.

Caroline writhed in pain. Klaus' was clawing at her shoulder blades jerking her right and left as if she was a rag doll. Half mad by magic and desire he had lost his senses. He had lost every rational part inside the animal when she ran away from him. His need to claim her overcame every other part of him. Even the part that wanted to protect her and keep her safe and unharmed.

Her whimpers of agony seemed to agitate him more before he drew back his paws from her back and feasted on her blood.

The animal sounds he was making were deafening to her ears. The thumping of his heart was out of sync with hers now. Hers was slowing down. His was accelerating. She tried to fight him off but cried out when he barked and his talons raked her back.

She pushed her face into the ground. Maybe this would be it. Maybe this would be how she would die. Maybe Klaus would lose control and eat her. Black spots danced in the golden swirls of her vision. Her eyelids felt heavy. The smell of earth was suffocating. Her spine was shuttering under the wolf's weight; the wolf that was taking in her scent. His fur was coarse at some parts and soft at others fallen over her like a blanket and in the haze of this torture she felt something hard against her backside and she tried to shift away only to have the double set of fangs punish her again with a furious huff.

All her life flashed before her eyes. Memories of her childhood. Of her mother. Of her friends. She saw Elena and Bonnie and Matt and Tyler. She saw her transition. She saw Stefan teaching her. She Damon hurting her. She saw herself falling in love with Tyler.

She saw herself dancing with Klaus. Smiling. Scoffing at him. His eyes piercing deep into her very soul. Deeper and deeper that gaze went.

Caroline tried to crawl away but Klaus' jaws snapped and the next thing she knew was that they had closed around her hip. Another scream broke from her lungs.

One more bite and one more. Her blood flowed. The hybrid bites infected her but the magic from the pentagram and from the runes of her skin danced around the poison blending it with the marrow of her bones. With her blood. With her skin. With her mind and dreams.

It was too much. It felt as if Klaus' was punishing her instinctually. For running. For making him hunt her. For not submitting.

He was making sure that she would not run again. That she would be too weakened to do so. That she would even die at his teeth.

Would she die?

She didn't want to die.

She stopped struggling. She stopped resisting. Venom was in his tongue and his fangs and ran over her wounds. She tried to mentally scrabble away from the pain. Breathlessly she tried to relax her body somehow. To make the pain ebb away. To drift away peacefully despite the horrifying moment.

The snow felt hot under her naked skin. Klaus' had tore the dress from her body along with parts of her flesh. Deep marks and mangled lines laced her skin. It was as if she had been whipped from her back lower to her thighs and straight down to the back of her knees.

She could not breathe. She could barely move. Her eyesight got replaced by a deep golden hue that covered everything she saw. And she felt as if she had entered her grave. As if the earth itself was swallowing her.

The moment she had entered the pentagram she had felt the bones drawing the ink on her skin to the ground. Like invisible ties of rope that bound her to the ground. And now she accepted those ties. She let them bind her down.

She felt waves of hot breath in her ear. Klaus' tongue lapped her flesh. His bloody muzzle sloshed against her neck. She rasped when the wolf's nose traced the length of her jaw as she pushed her head to the side.

Something wet smoothed over her tears and her tangled hair. The velvety tongue was licking her face possessively and soothingly now.

Klaus must have finally felt that she would not, could not, get out of the pentagram. She would not ran. He felt that she could not get away from him because he became gentler as she was left to bleed out. The wolf withdrew just a step away and with his muzzle he pushed at her side turning her around. She hissed when her torn back collided with the snowy dirt. Her blood coated the snow.

She tried to focus when veins danced around her eyes. Her first instinct was fear as she was faced with the werewolf that had her blood dripping from his fangs.

She panted and heaved as the claws of the wolf dug into the snow at her left and right side. The magic that was cast in the ground finally settled a part of him and ignited another all at once. Caroline shivered but remained broken beneath him.

The wolf - _Klaus_ \- towered over her. An intimidating sight. A massive beast like those that one would expect to come out of horrific nightmares and fairytales, shining gold and silver under the moonlight. He was casting a heavy shadow on her as he blocked all the light of the moon. Now that she was so close she could not help but gape at the sheer massiveness of Klaus' size as a wolf. She had never seen anything like it before. It was just as impressive as it was terrifying.

No matter how much she could have been prepared for this moment it would make no difference. Like a lamb to the slaughter there she was. Bile rose in her throat and acid in her heart. It rolled in her bloodstream with bitterness and steam of lust. She still felt her body humming with need.

The wolf slowly crawled closer. Sniffing her arousal in the air, howling in excitement above her. She could taste her own fear and the anticipation that was starting to crawl inside her. A sob left her lips and the wolf growled at her.

Sweat covered her body. Her wounded back was killing her. The agony however was not what hurt the most. Her senses were losing their edge. She felt feverish as if Klaus' venom was already poisoning her system ready to explode into hallucinations but reality was still too real.

The magic of the ritual might have given her the temporary fangs and eyes of a werewolf so for Klaus to recognize her more as his mate but she was not a hybrid. No shaman and no priestess could change that. No witch would be powerful enough to turn her to a Hybrid.

Klaus' venom was lethal to her system and even though she had his blood in her system from when they blood shared before it was not enough. She was dying.

She didn't know why she did what she did next. Maybe it was the magic. Or maybe it was the poison in her veins. Or that little beat inside her that drummed like a second heart. She felt boneless but she lifted her arm. Her vision was blurry and her body pined to the ground but she reached for that blood coated muzzle.

The wolf growled at her but she stretched her hand more. Fire ran though her body. The pain was unreal. The wolf watched her with eyes that glowed like coals in the dark. She felt that she was dying. Maybe she only wanted one last touch of familiarity before she would go. This was still Klaus. Underneath it all. Underneath the broken switch and the animal skin. He had hurt her but he had once made her laugh too.

The wolf had hunted her so viciously and now it looked as if he would bolt away. He leaped to the side away from her touch. Wanting to see if she was a threat. If she would run again. If she would hurt him.

Time stopped.

"I am dying," Caroline whispered and her voice seemed strange even to her ears. So weak. So faint. "Is this what you wanted?"

The wolf howled.

She was not a wolf. She was not meant to survive this.

Something seemed to snap inside the beast because a tint of blue broke the golden hue of his orbs. Caroline could swear she saw it as her eyes turned completely bloodshot. She was ravenous. She wanted to desperately feed. The hallucinations would not be long now. Death was coming closer.

She tried to hold on to that smidge of blue. In the eyes she was seeing. Dizziness ruptured her mind.

And the wolf disappeared and the hint of blue became an ocean. She was staring at it. She was wearing it.

 _The blue in his eyes. The blue in her dress. The blue tones in the painting she was staring. at. Even some of the reflections the light was casting over the diamond bracelet on her wrist had blue in them._

 _She ran her gloved hands over the blue skirts. So soft. And the smell was so sweet. It was coming from him. It was not blood or wet fur. It was not the animal smell. It was cologne and champagne._

 _"Have you ever been?" Klaus asked her gently and Caroline shook her head. She had never travelled. This small town was suffocating her for years now. But it was still her home. Why did she feel like she wanted to go home then?_

 _"I've never really been anywhere," she said trying to shrug off the complaint she always had as indifference._

 _"I'll take you. Everywhere you want. Rome. Paris. Tokyo."_

 _She stared up at him and his boyish smile. She ran her eyes up and down. At his elegant tuxedo. At his beautiful locks. At his inviting dimples._

 _He meant it. He would. He would take her anywhere she would ask. She wanted to roll her eyes. But she couldn't. In the distance she heard the music playing from the ballroom but beyond that a wolf was crying._

 _"I want to go home," she whispered and felt drawn to him when his thumb wiped of the tear that fell on her cheek._

 _"You are home sweetheart."_

The warm colors of the art room faded and so did Klaus. Fires and snow and bones and pain.

Why was the wolf crying? Howling at the moon. She tried to breathe. The fever was taking her back and forth into reality and illusion now.

When her trembling fingers finally touched him he let her. Electricity ran in her body and she smiled.

She laughed and blood spilled from her mouth as she coughed. The wolf went still under her caress. Both their bodies humming with arousal provoked by the magic and their binding and the full moon. Her touch only intensified it.

"I guess I will never know," she repeated the words she had a long time ago told him.

Anyone capable of love was capable of being saved but Klaus was incapable of love and emotion in this state. He was incapable of being saved and she would never know now. It would be too late.

Her eyes were closing.

The moon reached its apex.

Motion broke between them. Time flowed again. The second beating inside her became louder. The wolf's heart was taking over her own. He stepped back and her hand fell.

Klaus prowled around her. Four limbs sliding over snow. He pushed his muzzle to the snow and gently probed an inch closer. He was advancing at her.

Caroline felt as if her body would tear itself apart. Klaus' venom was rotting her from the inside out. The wounds already festering. The hallucinations already claiming her mind. But the magic made her moan and writhe. It was as if the venom was turning into an aphrodisiac mixing with the dance of the runes on her skin and the blood loss was making the sensation more potent.

She gasped horrified when the wolf lunged forward and started flicking its tongue over her face. Her cheeks. Her lips. It was so gross but the magic from the ritual and the baths was making her body respond and get turned on.

When the wolf started licking her chest Caroline yelled so much that she felt that she broke her vocal chords. With her last remnants of power she tried to avoid this. She did not want to die like that but her nipples hardened and the wolf clawed and scratched at her in retaliation.

Caroline shook her head and looked at the moon above them. She cried and muttered the word please and no over and over again.

Was this even real? She tried to roll to the side but felt the wolf's claws pining her down again. She heard music. The sounds of waltz but she also heard the drums from the ritual. She felt cold and hot.

The hardness she had felt against her skin when Klaus was biting her earlier returned as the wolf was now trying to mount her and ride her.

"Please switch back to human form," she whispered and the wolf growled agitated, "please!" she implored him but the throes of magic made her body into a pool of sticky arousal and pheromones.

"You are in there somewhere. Please," she pleaded and Klaus' tongue flicked over her skin as the wolf nuzzled against her belly. Caroline's body constricted and shivered.

The soft muzzle was pushed lower and Caroline tried to push her body away from this assault. This could not be happening.

The wolf stretched its hind legs back, his testicles growing.

Caroline felt her folds swelling so much that the physical pain had her whimpering and making her mind forget that she was actually dying.

God she was dripping! What had they done to her. And the wolf could feel it and he wanted to claim his mate. The mate he felt that was in heat. The pheromones they had poured on her, _and in her_ , had blinded his senses.

When Caroline tried to crawl away once more she felt the wet cool tongue lick her ass. So close to her sex. His claws buried in her hips holding her in place. Forcing her in her hands and knees, trying to mount her.

"Please," she implored him again and it was as if her voice at last triggered something in him because his claws in her body turned to nails and his hold became a human one before it snapped back into its beast form.

Caroline cried and felt the animal behind her move closer. His erection straining so close to her swollen folds. She lost her balance and fell forward head first into the snow. His forepaws dug into her hips more and Caroline clenched her eyes in defeat. The weight of the wolf dropped on her body. Inches moving over her. Covering her. Closer. And closer.

She could not tell if this was real.

Closer and closer until he lied over her ready to thrust inside her. His fury body pressed along the length of hers.

The wolf lapped her back again and his fangs scrapped along her throat and she gave him access. One more bite and it would all be over and maybe she wouldn't have to live through this. He would have killed her before he could claim her and she would be at peace. Let him fuck her corpse.

She didn't want to die but for the first time in her life she invited death. In the shape of a wolf.

His fangs embedded into her throat, sinking into her jugular and he released his venom inside her for one last time.

* * *

"Drink! Now."

The fierce command broke through the darkness and brought her back to awareness even though she felt as if she was floating. It was when his blood rushed into her mouth that her body came alive again. It was a flow of life in metallic taste that caused her fangs to drop and her eyes to shot open.

His torn wrist was pressed against her lips and he was shaking her furiously. Her head was titled back, his firm grip holding it from behind.

She felt so out of it. She only felt the blood in her mouth and the connection with the body that was entangled with hers. She knew that body. All too well. Relief and dread attacked her.

 _Klaus._

She was alive and she was in his arms. His _human_ arms. All of him was an extension of her body.

His cock was hard against her thigh. The fur was gone. Smooth skin and toned muscle pressed against her. She blinked furiously.

 _She was alive._

Klaus' blood was the cure and he had turned back to human form. He was feeding her and before she knew it her fingers gripped his wrist and she bit hard into his flesh. His hiss was a blend of pain and pleasure and he slowly moved her in his arms, his chin resting on the top of her head as he inhaled her in.

His blood ran down her throat healing her but soon enough the sting of his bite burned her skin again. His fangs had sharply embedded into her neck. Within her deep inside and Caroline whimpered and tried to buck away from his grasp. She could feel the differential of power between them and the danger she was in. Her survival instincts kicked in but she somehow knew that despite everything she was safe. He had almost brutally killed her only moments before but now she felt safe. As safe as she could be in this situation.

Her strength however was not a match to his. Klaus only let her remove her teeth from his wrist only to grab her by the hair and pull her face close to his neck. He titled his head to the side without stopping feeding from her and Caroline knew that she would have to either feed or let him bring her to the brink of death again. Veins pulsated around her eyes and she savagely bit him.

The most intense feeling she had ever felt flashed through her. She knew feeding like this was intimate and she had fed from Klaus before but that was nothing like what she felt now. She could feel his heartbeat in her mouth. His pulse in her tongue. Her blood was leaving her body as Klaus was sucking it into his mouth from her veins and she was replacing it with his own. Cure and venom mingling. Magic roaring.

He crooned against her neck, his fangs still inside her. His hold became tighter and she gripped his shoulders not wanting to let go this time and Klaus twisted their bodies and pushed them back to the snow.

He pressed her in the middle of the pentagram and his hands started stroking her smooth healed back reaching over to her ass and gripping the back of her thighs. Caroline tried to move back, to protest, but Klaus' teeth widened the wound in her throat in warning and she tried to relax and drink him in more.

She knew what was coming. But she felt so angry. So powerless to stop it. Even the unnatural way her body was thrumming with desire was something she was forced into.

The sting of his venom was bringing tears in her eyes but the pain was also finally dissipating. She did not know how long her body would be able to take all that amount of wolf venom.

Klaus sucked at her flesh and when he removed his fangs from her throat she felt him licking the oozing blood tenderly but she was not ready to stop feeding from him.

His lips nibbled at the wound that was closing in her neck and she got lost in her bloodlust completely. She forgot why she was resisting. She forgot that the witches had magically roofied her. She forgot that only moments ago Klaus had almost raped her in his wolf form after savagely tearing her apart. She forgot that this was not what she wanted. She forgot everything but his touch and the blood in her mouth.

His legs nudged hers apart and the friction drove her mad. She arched her back and her breasts squeezed over his chest. She sucked a breath when she felt Klaus' hard erection poking her inner thigh. Her core burned. Her body opened. Her folds starting twitching. His blood in her mouth, his body over hers. She started convulsing. It was enough to send her over the edge. But it was not exactly enough. She screamed and bit him harder. She felt the need to somehow gain control. To challenge him. Either that mania was a side effect of the magic or his blood inside her she did not know. But it was so real. And it turned her wild.

Klaus settled between her legs and his fingers wrapped around her throat. Caroline squirmed as Klaus' forced her to stop feeding from him and she hissed when he choked her and pushed her back. She glared furiously at him. More of a vampire now than human herself she stopped breathing at the sight of those gold eyes that glowered back at her. His face was coated in blood. Her blood. He looked murderous. Veins pumped under his eyes and his fangs elongated.

"Mine," he growled and thrust his cock deep inside her causing her to cry out. She wrapped her legs around him but she could not speak. Her eyes shone with defiance inside that pleasured induced madness that drove both of them crazy. Klaus especially. This was not like the night he had compelled her to indulge to her desires and this was not like every other time he had held back. Even though he had turned into his human form he was still more wolf than man and he had to prove that he was the Alpha by making his mate submit.

He was growing crazy and angry and his body followed that twisted frenzy. His hold shuttered her bones and she cried and crashed his body between the grip of her thighs in retaliation. He pushed harder into her over and over again sliding into her slick entrance violently.

"Mine," he hissed again and her fangs dropped again and she snapped at him. She tried to push him to the side and straddle him but he was not letting her. Their fucking became savage and a power struggle as he pinned her under him.

Skin started smacking skin. Both their hips were meeting each other with crashing brutal force. Pleasure mixed with agonizing pain as the bones that formed the pentagram shook as if an earthquake was rattling them.

Moonlight bathed them. The snow seemed to glitter in the dark. Blood staining it. Klaus shifted his body just enough so to find a better angle to drive himself inside her deeper. To claim her. To subdue her. She pushed her hands to the side and tried to use her elbows as leverage so to roll them over but Klaus would not have it. His spine locked and no matter how much she tried to sit up it was futile. She screamed in frustration, her body quivering and straining to the point of breaking. She felt as if he was stabbing her and no matter how much her muscles were taking him in something was stopping her from coming. She was so wet. So slick. So in pain. She wanted to come but she couldn't. All she felt was her belly aching. Her breasts swelling. Fire bloomed inside her.

His fingers threaded her hair and pulled her head back violently making her scream. Both of them were becoming more and more frustrated. She renewed her struggling. Viciously scratching him and squirming under him as her folds clenched and unclenched around his thickness that was pounding inside her without mercy.

He thrust inside her even harder. Over and over again and he was so rough that she almost begged him to stop. She could tell that she was soaping wet not just with juices but with blood too. Not even her vampire body could keep up with him but for some reason she did not want to give in to him. And the more she resisted the more aroused she was becoming and the more the ink in her skin swirled.

He gripped her hands above her head and held them forcing her to stop scratching him.

"Mine," Klaus demanded again but she pressed her mouth shut and refused to even let out a whimper of pain or pleasure. His eyes dilated more and the gold in them became more pronounced.

Caroline's hands managed to escape his hold and wrapped around his neck trying to somehow cause him pain. To snap his neck. To dig her fingernails inside his flesh and rip out his throat but the more she fought back the more of an unstoppable force Klaus was becoming and her body was becoming more and more aware of it. She felt him everywhere. Even in parts she had never felt before. He was so heavy. So unrelenting. And everywhere his body touched it burned. The ink runes seemed to become more activated when his skin touched them.

Klaus rolled his hips rhythmically and gripped her breasts. When his touch covered every inch of her Caroline could not help to let out a moan of delirium and the back of her feet pushed against his ass. She threw her head from side to side when he reached between her spread legs and pressed his thumb against her clit forcing more pleasure out of her. Until there was nothing else she could feel. No snow, no air, no identity. Only him inside her. Only his touch. His thrusts. Only him. She gripped the nape of his neck and pulled him closer. She felt him tense against her body. She could feel him hurting too. Screaming for a release that was not coming. Not unless she would completely give in to him.

Everything became distorted as his movements turned animalistic. If she had been human he would have torn her apart. Her sex burned and felt completely torn apart. And when a tear finally slid down her cheek she shuddered from head to toe because Klaus stopped moving and grazed her jawline with his fingers. Slowly. Gently. Smoothly. He hid his face in the crook of her neck and she could hear their ragged breathings. He eased up and stopped moving making her sigh in relief and aggravation.

This was torture and he felt so warm. It was more than just a Hybrid thing. It was fever. It was fire.

Maybe he had enough. Maybe he had enough for tonight. The idea that she would have to endure this again the next full moon however was mortifying. She knew that Klaus would not stop until he would get what he wanted but now he halted. And she felt relief at the way he relented even though her body screamed and ached.

She carefully let go of his neck and tried to sooth him into a more gentle reaction by sliding her hands so very gently down his back. She eased the hold her legs had around him. Her heels slumping down his thighs.

He lifted his head up and they breathlessly watched each other for what seemed like endless moments. He was still inside her. He was still hard. He was still mad.

And he had tricked her so to show him weakness.

Before she could even blink he had turned her around and pushed her on her hands and knees. She yelled in anger and tried to wriggle away but he lifted her ass up making sure to keep her in that position.

She felt his claws coming out again and she panicked. She looked behind her back and saw him positioning himself between her legs ready to take her from behind. She was afraid that he would turn into a wolf again and she dreaded it so much that she pushed her fingers and toes into the ground and spread her legs for him.

He pushed his claws into her hips and she shouted in agony. He pulled her closer to him and rubbed the tip of his cock against her wetness up and down until she screamed but not from pain this time.

She threw her head to the front and tried to hold on from something. Anything.

His tip teased her inflamed swollen clit and Caroline whined and opened her mouth but no sound came out. She almost blacked out as Klaus' thrust his cock inside her again and his scream was half human half animal as he pounded hard and fast into her ravaged pussy. He was showing no mercy. Spreading her. Tearing her folds. Blood and juices poured out of her and he gripped her harder and his hips collided with her ass with every powerful thrust he was taking. He was controlling her body and her moves. She screamed and her palms gripped the snow.

She knew what he wanted. He had made her dream of this when he had snatched away and brought her to this god forsaken place.

 ** _Dream Flashback_**

" _To whom do you belong Caroline?" he drawled with his most seductive tone as his hands traveled possessively all over her naked sweaty bloody body._

" _To you," she breathed and tried to lift her body and to feel him closer but he didn't allow it. He stilled both of their movements and she cried frustrated._

" _Only you, please Klaus, I am yours," she begged and she heard him humming a very haunting tune she could swear she had heart before. It was a cold sound and held no emotion and was soon met by his laugher as she kept pleading him to fuck her. That laugher was so unsettling almost as much as the tune he sang under his breath. It turned her blood to ice and she felt his hands parting the cheeks of her ass violently._

 _This didn't feel right. It felt raw and emotionless. It felt brutal and animalistic and somehow she needed it. She needed him. She wanted him inside her. More than ever._

 _She was his._

" _Forever love," he promised as he savagely thrusted his hard engorged cock deep inside her in a swift vicious move._

 _She bled and broke and screamed and-_

And she could not give him what he wanted now. The nightmare had turned to real life and it was breaking her.

Minutes turned to hours and Klaus just kept going. His stamina was not ending and she felt as if she would fall apart. The magic from the pentagram did not allow them to stop or to come. Instead it was increasing their arousal. Everything had turned raw. Caroline could hear their bodies smacking against each other as he kept control of their movements. Her knees hurt while he mounted her and savagely fucked as if she was a bitch in heat ordering her to accept that she was his.

Her breasts touched the snow and he grabbed her hair and pulled her back until her back collided with his chest. He was not allowing her to move on her own but was bouncing her over the length of his cock. Her breasts were bobbing up and down and she knew that this would not stop unless she would give in to him but something was missing. She wanted to make this torment stop but she couldn't submit to him and she wouldn't until-

"Caroline!"

Her name. Calling her by her name and not just viewing her as his nameless mate. As a body he wanted to possess and fuck and force into submission.

Something inside her snapped and Klaus felt it. The way he called her name. With so much devastation. With so much need as if he was pleading her to hear him. To give in to him. As if he was begging her to save him. And that was not just the wolf. That was another part of him that was deep locked inside him and was part wolf, part vampire and part human. And was full of emotion. And hope. And she felt him. After so long she felt the part of him that was lost inside him. The part of him that the switch had not touched and depraved from all the feelings that made him...him.

She could finally breathe. She could finally let go. She knew what she was about to do and she was finally ready.

She reached back at him. Her hand reached back and wrapped behind his neck. His arm wrapped around her waist.

"Yours," she whispered, a sound barely audible. So faint. But he heard it. And he felt it. And he became gentle.

"Forever love."

He moved inside her only one more time and so slowly before both of them screamed and came apart. Breaking into thousand pieces. Feeling stars exploding behind their eyes. Klaus' bit her neck as they both orgasmed, their bodies clung to each other. Finally the magic exploded inside them and released them as they came.

Caroline screeched as the most mind-blowing orgasm of her entire life ripped through her and Klaus' bite burned as nothing else had burned before. The venom burned through her bloodstream but she didn't fear it. It glued to her every blood cell. It became one with her system. It devoured and consumed her. And it was not death. It felt like life.

The mating bone snapped in place. Caroline felt it. Like a chord between them that tied between their organs and bones pulling them together. The beat of their hearts sounded identical.

The world shifted. The pentagram lit on fire around them and when Caroline opened her eyes again the world had changed its color. It was brighter. It felt more like day than night. The moon had a song now. She sighed and let her body be taken over by that song. By that force. She started moving up and down and Klaus' let her. She had given him control and it was his to give it back and so he did. She took charge and rode his cock until they both shuddered and he spilled inside her again and when he bit her this time his bite did not burn.

Klaus slid out of her and turned her around and watched her with fascination as her eyes turned to gold. The double fangs became part of her nature. As if they belonged to her. So did the gold hybrid color of her eyes. Not temporarily induced by magic. It was hers now. Everlasting. What the witches and the shaman could not give her Klaus had.

Caroline frowned and watched him in awe as his features became less hard and his claws retreated. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. She felt so in sync with his body now. So at peace. She could tell that he felt nothing emotionally. She could feel the void. But she also felt the wolf. Every instinct. Every desire. Every primal need. It called her. And she submitted. There was no other word to describe what she had done.

She heaved and flinched when her fingers grazed over the burning sensation on her neck. At the place where Klaus' had bit her when she told him she was his. When he came inside her.

She looked down at her body. Her skin was smooth and the drawings were gone.

The runes had dissolved in her blood. It was if they had travelled with her blood cells and concentrated their magic at her neck. Straight to the bite. Casting all of their magic in it until the ink vaporized from her skin.

Her brow frowned. The skin where Klaus' bit her however was not smooth as it used to be. It had stitched back together but there was a faint trace of line. A scar. She could feel it.

She looked up at Klaus and her breath was caught up in her chest at the possessiveness she saw in his eyes. So close to an emotion but Caroline could tell that this was the wolf that had claimed her and now recognized her as his mate and she finally understood what Adelaide had meant when she had told her that Klaus could sublimate and replace his emotions with what his wolf felt for her. His animal was balanced and content and his instincts were replicating emotions.

He kissed her hard and Caroline realized that something weird was happening. She felt as if she could not resist him anymore. As if a part of hers was sired to him. She had her mind. Her choices. Her free will. But her body wanted to submit to him and was now pliant and compliant and in desperate need to have him inside her and satisfy and please him. She was ready to bend over and let him do whatever he wanted to her. She sighed against his mouth and felt his smirk over her lips. It sparked anger inside her but her body remained docile. Submissive. Their kiss deepened and their fangs came out. They cut each other and they tasted their blood. His cuts were not toxic to her now.

Caroline yielded to him as he pushed her back and she spread her legs for him. She was so wet and ready for him. So horny. Something she had not felt even when she had first transitioned into a vampire. And the pleasure she was getting out of Klaus' slightest touch was inconceivable. So euphoric. She was dying and coming to life over and over again.

The magic from the pentagram dissolved into a breeze and as the fullness of the moon was drifting away in the horizon Caroline lost time. She lost count of how many times they fucked. Endlessly. Of how many times she screamed his name and told him she was his.

He pounded inside her ass and pussy over and over again until she become boneless. But she wanted more. Every protest was gone. Every coherent thought was gone. It was not until dawn that she fell into slumber with Klaus' cock buried still deep inside her.

* * *

The fires had went out.

Slight smoke was rising in the air and the faint cackling of dying embers on burned out grey coals was whispering in the crisp air. Ash and morning dew covered the bones of the pentagram and their particles flew over the snow blanket.

When sunlight streamed through the trees and warmed their bodies melting the snow beneath them Caroline pushed herself more into Klaus' arms and hid her face into his chest. She was so comfortable. She didn't want to wake up. Everything around her felt so harsh and freezing but she was warm. Woods, mountains and snow were surrounding them.

The sunlight annoyed her and she wanted to feel Klaus' warmth more. Icy powder had created a sheet of blue and white snowflakes over their still hot bodies that were tangled as Klaus was holding her tight. He was like a cocoon around her. He still smelled like a wolf. Like wet fur but for some reason she found that scent soothing and not scary or disgusting. She smelled like him and like sex though. Blood and his come had dried in her thighs. His cock was still buried inside her and with the slightest friction she was becoming so wet again. He was becoming hard again too.

She heard him groan at the way she moved but she could not help it. She touched the bite in her neck. It was still there. Not bleeding. Not burning. But it was still there. The ritual was over but why had her neck not healed?

"What is this?" she whispered feeling so spent and felt Klaus' lips pressing at the top of her head.

"I gave you the mating mark," he murmured contently and Caroline looked up at him but his eyes were still closed. His lips were stretched into a satisfied smile. Her fingers hovered over the mark with uncertainty and the first tingles of nervousness and fear replaced the sense of bliss she felt.

It was as if Klaus felt it too because he moved his body and pushed more into her renewed slickness making her moan and grip into him fervently. He held her even closer and his hand squeezed her ass making sure to keep a firm grip on her. His legs covered hers and he felt so warm and she snuggled closer. This felt so good. She took in his scent again and she felt as if she was falling onto heaven.

She opened her mouth to say something but she felt so tired and so content in Klaus' arms with her body completely possessed by his.

The world and the future would have to wait. She was where she wanted to be. For now.

For now she could pretend this was real and safe. For now she could just let go. Her fingers covered the mark and she pressed them there feeling the scar as if it was a sentient extension of Klaus over her skin. A brand.

A part of him as a part of hers.

She drifted off to sleep once more unsure of what that actually meant.


	15. Revery

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story is very dark and includes graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Self harm, non consensual themes, graphic scenes of abusive and sexual content.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 _The air was crisp and fresh. Dawn's coldness and moisture were everywhere. Dew drops slid from the trees. Some still hang at the tips of the leaves and some dropped down. The hushing sounds and whispers of the animals could be heard in the distance. A new day was coming alive and with it so did the forest and everything else._

 _She was at the waterfalls before the sun even came up at the sky. She had a lot of chores to do today._

 _She stepped on wet mud and glanced up at the sky. It would soon rain and there would be nothing but mud to step on for miles and miles. Humidity had her hair knotted in a matted mess that glued on her face. The damp clothes were sticking on her body as she carried the buckets with the fresh water from the river. They were heavy but needed. She had to water and feed the livestock before father woke up._

 _Her arms burned from the weight she was carrying. The calluses on her palms burned from the rope handles. She heaved but kept up. The pain in her back made every movement painful._

 _Caroline looked around. She was in Mystic Falls she suddenly realized. But it seemed different. There was more greenery. The wilderness seemed vast and untamed. She felt as if she had never trudged through this muddy path before but she knew where she was going. She was walking towards the clearing beyond the steep cliff close to the caves._

 _She was walking towards…home._

 _She frowned and tilted her head to the side. A small village was looming on the horizon with a few huts and some rising smoke from the chimneys and the coal hearths and stone fire pits._

 _Huts?_

 _She looked down at herself but…wait a minute…that wasn't right. This was not her body. She was carrying a sword at her side and a small chopping ax. Wait…what the heck? A sword?_

 _She stopped to catch her breath and then looked at her hands. A man's hands. Rough and soiled with mud and dirt._

 _The shock was too much and she dropped the buckets that tumbled to the ground. The water spilled down._

 _She froze in panic. No, no, no! How could she have done this?_

 _The voice from behind her was just as harsh and unforgiving as the cut of the whip on the skin. She trembled in fear. The wounds from the last beating had not healed yet._

" _Look what you did…boy!"_

Caroline's eyes snapped open and her hands flew up in front of her face. She checked them carefully. Her hands. Her body. This was just a dream. Her back was not hurting. She was okay.

It wasn't real.

She tried to breathe. She was still waking up. Trembling and shivering. She was sweaty and her heart was beating wildly. She felt so hot and so cold at once. She breathed in and out and swore she could still smell the morning dew from the forest in her dream. It was so vibrant. So much that she felt the chillness in the back of her throat. The rest of the always recurring dream was a blurry mess in her mind now but the forest smell stayed.

She glanced at the window and at the frozen mountains beyond it before she turned her head to the side and saw that Klaus was sleeping naked next to her. They were both naked. It was still night and their bodies were entangled on top of the wrinkled sheets. Ever since the mating ritual, she was sleeping in his room.

Caroline flinched uncomfortably but didn't dare move. Her body ached and she knew she had to sleep but her dreams were always plagued with such weird nightmares ever since the ritual.

She licked her dry lips and tried to relax. She didn't want to wake up Klaus even though she knew he had sensed her waking up. He was always on his toes but right now he was sated so he preferred to not bother with her. He didn't care. Which, at least in this case, was a good thing. She couldn't really deal with another round of rough sex despite the wetness that bloomed between her thighs just at the thought of it and simply by the close proximity to Klaus. His warmth and his scent were driving her crazy. She was so horny all the time. His arm was wrapped around her breasts and he was holding her tight. She felt tears brimming in her eyes. She wanted to scream. She felt so drained. So out of place and time. She couldn't have even a second of peace anymore. Either she was awake or she was asleep she was tormented.

Caroline fell back to her pillow. Her life had turned into a feverish nightmare but at least those dreams were not real. And she needed sleep.

She looked at the window again. Her eyes adjusted more to the darkness and she stared at the stars and the endless open skies above the snowy mountains. The view did nothing to calm her nerves. Despite the endless horizon, she felt trapped.

She closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep.

* * *

Caroline's body sank more into the mattress under Klaus' weight as waves of incoherent pleasure rushed through her. She panted and gripped his shoulders as her eyes glossed over from the pleasure and focused above Klaus' moving body. Every thrust had her insides clenching and twisting but somehow her mind seemed to be separated from the immense pleasure her body was experiencing.

Black and gold. Those were the colors of the ceiling in Klaus's room. Gold like the color of his hybrid eyes and black like the shade of his eyes when the blue turned to black when he looked at her with lust.

She was now permanently staying with him. In his bed. So to be within close reach to him. She was his mate after all. She belonged to him. She belonged next to him.

The intricate designs of gold over the black of the ceiling had seemed too bright at first. The way the gold would shine at night and would illuminate when sunlight would touch it. But the shine became dull. The luxury did not affect her any longer.

She would sleep and wake up and she would know what would follow under those colors. Those colors were the first thing she would see when she would wake up or would writhe under Klaus' body in ecstasy and rage.

The mating ritual had bonded them and the physical need to have sex with Klaus was always so painful and demanding. For days after the ceremony they had been doing nothing than screwing like animals over and over again. At first, the haze of the pleasure was so great that she was blissfully giving in to the point where she was afraid that whatever change the ritual and that mark on her neck had caused in her would forever be messing with her mind.

She was afraid that Klaus had sired her to him but as the aftershocks of the ritual faded away she realized that her emotions were intact and so was her mind and her thoughts. She still hated Klaus and hated what he was doing to her. She was not sired. Her mind was raging with anger and frustration for what was happening but her body was another story.

Even thinking about Klaus and cursing him in her mind caused her to get aroused beyond belief. Instantly. The mating scar burned whenever he was near and whenever he was not it felt itchy. She wanted to fuck him and she wanted him to fuck her. She felt dirty and filthy but she could not resist him sexually. She moaned and writhed and was always so wet and ready for him. No one had ever made her feel that way. No matter how many cold showers she would take and how much she would try to think things that would tone down her libido it was not working.

And Klaus knew it and was taking advantage of it. All it took was a touch, a look and she would be spreading her legs for him and tearing his clothes begging for him to take her. Anywhere. In any way. At once.

It was torture and she hated that Klaus many times stalled and played with her so to make her beg. So to make her sound desperate and compliant. He was sadistic that way and she hated it. She hated it as much as she hated him and as much as she hated her body's response and the stupid magic that bound her to him like that.

On the other hand, she knew this was going both ways. He wanted her too with the same despair and fervor. All the time. His desire was not fading away and he was more than happy to indulge in her weakness and fuck her hard and fast whenever she was close. After that, he was always content and satisfied but she rarely ever was. She was in heat. All the time. Before and after.

She had never been this sexually active in her whole life. It was becoming painful and more so it was draining her mentally and emotionally and it seemed to be triggering those weird dreams of hers. In the end, she always felt used and empty when she was heaving all spent after having sex with Klaus. He did not seem to care of course. He only cared about his physical satisfaction and he was content with how things were.

Klaus' thrusts became faster and harder until her nails cut his back to bloody ribbons and she screamed his name as she came. Klaus kept pounding inside her chasing his own orgasm as her wet muscles still gripped him tight. She whimpered and grabbed his hair. His lips pressed on the mark on her neck that burned and burned until its ache eased up when her body gave up and allowed the aftershocks of pleasure to lull it to content waves of satisfaction and freely allowed Klaus to seek his own pleasure without holding anything back.

Her eyes never left the black and the gold colors on the ceiling just as Klaus' collapsed over her panting body.

And for some reason, the dew smell from her dreams still lingered in her nose.

* * *

 _The tuxedo jacket was disregarded to the side. The buttons of the snow white shirt were unbuttoned at the top and the sleeves were rolled up._

 _The charcoal chunk was smearing blackness on her fingers and on the paper._

 _So weird._

 _Her hand was different. It was not feminine. It was rough. It was strange. It belonged to someone else. To someone that knew how to draw. She stared at the old drawing paper. It was definitely vintage. And fancy. Since when did she had such drawing materials and since when she did know how to draw?_

 _Each stroke she was pushing on the paper was confident. The way she was sketching felt so personal. Like she was leaving part of her heart on paper. Like spilling in the image the words she could not say. A secret she wanted to share. An apology. A chance to show she wasn't the monster everyone believed her to be. That she could connect with people. That she wanted to try to understand them. Not them. She wanted to understand her. To hope she could see under the façade. To let her light shine over her too._

 _She was so young. And so perceptive for her age. Her words had cut deep._

" _I_ _get it. Your father didn`t love_ _you_ _, so_ _you_ _assume that no one else will either. And that`s why_ _you_ _compel_ _people_ _or_ _you_ _sire them or_ _you_ _try to buy them off, but that`s not how it works._ _You don`t connect with people_ _because you don`t_ _even try to understand them"_

 _Her voice still whispered in the room. Her bracelet was next to his pencils. She had thrown it as if it was worth nothing and now there was nothing left but an endless voice._

 _Caroline shook her head and focused on the sketch again._

 _She was drawing. A girl. No, not a girl. She was drawing a woman. And a horse. The face of the woman was hers but the man's hand that was drawing it was not._

 _Emotions flowed like fire inside her. Like a flame in the dark. The shadows were showing her the way. It hurt to draw this. To let out on paper all her loneliness. All her need. To perfect in the drawing the way she saw her. The way he saw her. To capture that secret smile. That radiance._

 _The hand kept drawing. The soft waves of the hair. The eyes full of understanding and the layers beneath._

 _They were the same beneath it all. Only a kindred spirit would see under the mask. So he poured all his emotion on the paper. He? Caroline felt so out of balance. She was she. She was herself but she was also…he. She was him. She was in his body. He was drawing and she felt that she was drawing. And she felt him._

 _She felt him as he let the untold be told through the lines. He drew and thought that maybe the monster inside would find peace if the recipient of the drawing understood that there was more to the monster. Maybe even a human side. One that still had a heart. A string of that heart was pulled tonight. And with that pull so many emotions stirred._

 _Caroline looked down at the drawing. It was finished. She frowned. She had seen that drawing before._

 _She let her finger wander over the sketch. She sighed. So much longing in a breath. In her breath. In his breath._

 _She signed the drawing. He signed the drawing. Both of them did. They were one._

" _Thank you for your honesty._

 _Klaus."_

Her hands grasped the edges of the bathtub. Her fingers slid on the porcelain, water sloshed around her body and her wet hair fell on her shoulders when she pulled her head out of the water. The water had turned tepid she had turned cold.

She had fallen asleep in the bathtub and drowned.

Her eyelashes were wet and her vision glossy when she rubbed her eyes and breathed. She breathed and breathed and coughed. She had woken up inside the water. Her body had slumped into the water that covered her; she drowned and she came back to life and she emerged from the water with a gasp.

She was a she. Not a _he_. What a weird sensation.

Caroline pushed her hands over her face. She was drenched and she shivered. Water splashed out of the tub spilling down to the floor. She had suffocated and hadn't even realized it. And now she didn't even care about that. She only cared about how real that dream felt like.

She submerged her body under water again. All sounds got lost in the pressure. Her sight got distorted. There was no feeling of peace. She used to dip underwater and she pretended this could be her refuge. It wasn't anymore. Not since the night of the ritual when they witches had forced their magic on her when she was in the pool and had prepared her to go to Klaus like a lamb that is set for slaughter. They had roofied her and drowned her in that pool.

Water was strangling her now.

She still kept her body under until her lungs burned.

And under the surface parts of the dreams kept coming to her. She didn't remember the dream. It was all so foggy.

She only remembered a few words and a sketch.

' _Thank you for your honesty.'_

But that wasn't a dream. That had actually happened.

She remembered that sketch. That night. She remembered finding the drawing in her room. She remembered it all. More so she still remembered that Klaus. A different Klaus. And she hated that she missed him. The Klaus she was dealing with now was not the one she missed. The man she missed had parts that still remained human. That man cared.

That night, when she had returned from the ball in his house, had been the first time she had glimpsed his humanity underneath all that bravado and cruelty. They had danced and they had talked and they had faught.

She had expected retaliation for her honesty that night but she had received gratitude. It had been the first time she felt something deep inside for him. Something she never revealed to anyone not even to herself. She had kept that drawing to her nightstand until Tyler found it and then she kept it hidden in her drawer next to her bed. She kept it close for some reason.

Bubbles rose in the water, escaping from her nose. She was drowning again. She was cold. That night was gone. Left not only in dreams that drowned her.

She rose from the water and got out of the bathtub. She dragged herself towards the sink.

She didn't care about her nudity anymore or about propriety or about the fact that she was dripping water everywhere.

She stood in front of the fogged mirror. She slid her hand over the moisture on the glass and stared at her reflection. Her skin was so white that it seemed so thin. So breakable. But the mark on her neck was whiter still. She closed her eyes. She hated that thing. For what it made her feel and for the fact that it felt like a slavery brand. Klaus' had literally branded her as if she was cattle or something.

She punched the mirror and the glass rained down on her hand. Blood gushed out from her torn skin that slowly healed.

She stared at the blood that drizzled on the shards.

She took a broken piece of glass and guided it to her neck. It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last. She knew it was futile but she had to try.

* * *

She had wrapped her body in a fluffy bathrobe and got comfortable in the rocking chair on the indoors garden patio. Klaus had gone to visit Adelaide Richelieu and she was left alone for the day. A welcome respite.

Caroline was greedily drinking from the compelled human that had offered her her wrist. She was so hungry all the time. Blood stained her chin but Caroline continued drinking hungrily. The blood felt so good in her mouth. So warm. But not as euphoric as it used to feel or as it was supposed to feel. Klaus' blood tasted so much better.

Caroline bit down on the wrist harder. The human girl whimpered in pain and Caroline barely managed to hear the slowing heartbeat. She pushed the girl's hand away. Blood dripped down Caroline's chin.

She stared up at the girl. She didn't even know her name. She only knew that she had taken too much. She could see it in the paleness of her victim and she could hear it at the irregular slow heartbeat.

"Would you like some more?" the girl smiled dreamily and offered Caroline her bleeding wrist again.

Caroline stared at the pumping blood from the vein that still throbbed and licked her lips. The girl stepped closed and Caroline let out a strangled noise. She angrily took a napkin from the table and pressed it on the girl's wrist.

"Go away," she groused through gritted teeth and the girl bowed and left.

Caroline wiped the excess blood from her lips with her hand and closed her eyes. With shaky hands, she reached for the crystal pitcher on the table. It was filled with blood too.

Witches and compelled humans always offered her blood either from the vein or in carafes. It was part of her training to drink from the vein every day so she could not avoid it; she did her best to control her blood thirst and not to kill anyone but it was becoming progressively harder. Especially after the ritual.

Caroline moaned. That girls' blood type was her favorite. B positive. Klaus had made sure of that. And now Caroline wanted more. She had almost killed her and she barely felt any remorse. It was becoming a dangerous gamble.

She could have refused to drink from that girl today but Klaus would know. He always knew. Everyone spied on her and reported back to him and she knew that Klaus had no qualms to make her suffer for this. He had already compelled her to kill a woman in the past and Caroline didn't want to go through that again.

She quickly filled the glass to the brim with blood and gulped it down. Then another. And another.

It was a bit stale in comparison to the girl's blood but she was so thirsty. Her bloodlust was off the charts. Blood was the only thing keeping her up these days. Her sleeping patterns were all screwed and so was she both figuratively and literally.

She sighed and pushed back her tears. She constantly felt the need to cry but crying would not do her any good. She had to keep herself together. She had to remember who she was. She was Caroline Forbes. Vampire extraordinaire and overachiever. She could do this. She could persevere even in this nightmare and she would. Klaus had already taken everything away from her. She wouldn't allow him to take that too. She would control herself and her instincts and her bloodlust. She would keep parts of herself for herself and she would not change beyond recognition. She would not become a monster.

She put the half empty glass on the table and pushed the pitcher back. She pressed her lips and closed her eyes. She heard Stefan's voice telling her to breathe. In and out. So she did. She did until she overcame her hunger. Or at least until she managed to control it. She refused to fall back to the trap of missing her friends and of thinking how they must have forgotten her by now. How they didn't look for her. How she wasn't Elena.

She leaned back in her chair and rocked herself. She tied the belt of the bathrobe tighter and stared at the endless white beyond the tall windows. She was sick and tired of all the snow and the dim sun. She wanted to feel the heat again. She wanted to feel a warmer climate. This place felt like a frozen tomb. Like her tomb.

The weather was cold but she was a vampire. She didn't feel anything aside from her need to succumb to oblivion.

She bit her lip and reached for her glass again. She looked at it. It was not half empty. It was half full. This was how she should be viewing things again. Somehow she had to find the positive side of things. And to hold on from those. She was alive. The people she cared for were safe. Her mother was alive and well. And somehow she would survive this.

She looked at the mountains ahead. A long time ago she had wanted to be able to see a landscape like this one. Mystic Falls seemed so small in comparison. And now she was in another part of the world. Trapped maybe but the world was a big place. She would see more parts of it sooner or later. One way or another. She refused to dwell on which way she would end up seeing the world or what was happening to her in this corner of the world. For now, she would enjoy her half-full glass of blood slowly. She would enjoy the view even if she hated it. And she would try to take it one day at a time.

She pulled the straw from the glass with the orange juice, put in the glass she was holding and started sucking the blood slowly. She had to show some control and she would. The last thing she needed was to become a blood junkie on top of everything else.

She swallowed down the sip of her blood and yawned. She then turned her attention to the book Klaus had left for her.

 _The art of war._

She opened it again and went to the page she was reading before the girl Klaus had compelled to be her human blood bag for the day had interrupted her.

Human blood bag? God, she was starting to think like Klaus. This was not acceptable. From now and on she would be asking everyone's names in here. They were not just things for them to compel and drink from. They were human beings. Delicious human beings that pumped delicious blood. Like she once had for Damon and like she was doing for Klaus now.

Her fingers dug into the spine of the book.

Where was she? Oh yes.

" _Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak."_

"Easier said than done," she mumbled and angrily turned the page again. She made herself more comfortable and pushed her legs up on the chair and tucked her feet under her.

She kept reading, slowly drank blood and ate some chocolate but the more she read the more her eyes were closing. She was so tired. She only wanted to sleep. She cracked her neck and yawned again. If she wasn't a vampire she would have broken down by now. The brutal training, the constant sex, and those vivid dreams were sucking the life out of her. Even the blood was not enough to sustain her and keep her awake.

She kept trying to read but the letters danced in front of her eyes until the book slid from her hand. Her head rolled to the side and her eyes closed.

The scar on her neck turned brighter.

* * *

 _The fire was swallowing the drawings. And with it all her feelings. She tore more pages from the sketchbook and threw them in the raging fire. It was her face in the sketches but she remembered drawing it. She remembered so very clearly. She burned more pages in the fire._

 _She was betrayed again. Finn was dead. Esther betrayed her. She had dared to hope. To open up. She believed things would be different this time. But nothing ever changed. She should have known._

 _She stood by the fireplace, her eyes taking in every shimmering of the fire. She had been obsessed with those drawings. With every line. With every shape. With ever smile on the paper. With every expression, she drew from memory. The tearing of the paper resembled defeat._

 _There was only one thing she felt. The bitter sting of betrayal. And it burned. Like the fire that turned the drawings and all her feelings too ash. It burned. A thousand years and it still burned._

' _Love was a vampire's greatest weakness.'_

 _How could she have forgotten that?_

Caroline grumbled, her eyes opening slowly. She was so vexed she wanted to start shouting until her lungs would get ripped out of her chest.

The dim sun rays broke into the room and she finally managed to wake her up from one more taxing dream. She could barely breathe and her heart played a constant tune like a drum. The feelings she had felt in the dream were crashing her soul and left her breathless and exhausted. She felt as if she was walking into someone else's shoes. As if these dreams were pieces she had to connect.

When she waking up some details were fuzzy but the feelings and the sensation always lingered. There was pain poured into her heart from those dreams and it was horrible. She felt as if someone was crashing her mind. Her heart. Her soul. She assumed those were the aftermath of the ritual. Like the night terrors, she had when her parents got divorced. Or when she turned into a vampire and when her father died. She always had horrific nightmares when she was going through something traumatic. When she was being tortured or when she was stressed. But these dreams felt different and on top of that what was happening to her when she was awake was leaving her in a constant state of hopelessness.

Her energy was depleted as was her positivity. The only thing that was left was the endless sex drive and her need for Klaus' blood. Otherwise, everything else sucked. She was so tired. She only wanted one night of uninterrupted sleep. To sleep peacefully. To not have anyone wake her up for her training. To not have Klaus waking her up to fuck her in the middle of the night. To not have those stupid dreams that drained her.

She was miserable.

She felt like a zombie and she had no one to turn to.

Her nostrils flared. She only wanted to go back to sleep. To dream of home. To dream of her mom. God, she had missed her mother. Her friends. Tyler. Her life. But all of that was gone now.

She stared at the ceiling. Black and gold. She hated those colors. She looked down at herself. She was sprawled on the black silk sheets. She was always sleeping naked now and she hated that too.

Klaus' hand was wrapped around her waist drawing her close to him. She stared at his face. Half of it was pressed against his pillow. And she was so close to him. She could breathe him in. Her nipples hardened from the proximity. From inhaling his scent. From being held like that. She rubbed her legs together hating the tingling sensation that was already blossoming between her thighs that were smeared with Klaus' come from hours ago.

She closed her eyes and tried to not breathe or move. But she knew that he was awake. His senses were always on edge. He could feel the presence of others from miles away even in his sleep and he could always tell when she was awake or not. She could too. His training had paid off. But still, she wanted some moments to gather herself even though she was already so wet and in need of sexual release.

She stubbornly clenched her eyes and legs shut and forced herself to go back to sleep. She almost started kicking her legs in the way she used to when the alarm clock was waking her up back in Mystic Falls when she had to get up and get ready for school. This time the sound was far more grating. Klaus low laugh was setting her off.

She pressed her lips when Klaus' fingers slid over her neck and down her shoulder. She fisted the silk sheet at her side while he lazily nudged her closer to him and grazed the curve of her breast with his thumb.

Damn him. She panted and could not stifle her moan that turned to an angry growl when she heard his sleepy chuckle again.

Klaus flipped her over and ran his tongue slowly down her spine. He took his time and reached over her ass biting her playfully. She pushed her face into her pillow. At least she wouldn't have to stare at the ceiling and the colors she hated and she wouldn't have to stare into Klaus' eyes either. She hated those too.

She spread her legs for him, already dripping from the simplest touch. Her nipples were hard over the silk pillows, her belly aching on the mattress as Klaus pinned her on the bed. She sighed and stretched for him.

"No good morning from you sweetheart?" Klaus' deep voice still had the remnants of sleep and it was so sexy that it turned her on more.

"Shut up," she grumbled.

Klaus laughed and his hand brushed against her hip and then lower. Caroline's body twitched in anticipation and she moaned into the pillow when Klaus' expert fingers parted her wet folds and massaged her slowly until her hips brazenly jerked up and down. When he flicked her clit she cursed some very not lady-like profanities.

"Such a morning person you are," Klaus taunted her and Caroline pressed her ass against him wantonly.

"Get on with it!" she huffed out and punched the bed when Klaus removed his fingers from her heated skin.

"Bossy," Klaus teased her and Caroline knew in that moment that if she could murder him she would without any hesitation. Her pussy was throbbing. She wanted to grip him tight inside her. To clench around his cock. She wanted him to fuck her. Hard and fast and to somehow made that maddening need for him go away. She had never signed for being his mate. She wasn't even a wolf. Why was this happening to her?

"What do you want love?" Klaus sweetly asked with a tantalizing voice.

"You know what I want," she grit out haughtily.

He slapped her ass hard and she held the bed frame gripping the frame tightly until it cracked.

"Not unless you tell me," Klaus tormented her and she snarled at him.

"Screw you!"

"Would be my pleasure," he sang smugly and even though she couldn't see his smirk she could feel it.

He nibbled at her ear and she groaned. His tongue was soft and hot as he sucked her pulse point. When his lips touched the scar he had branded her with she felt fire. The mark burned and flashes of scorching pain and desire ran in her bloodstream. She whined shamelessly.

He bit her shoulder gently with blunt teeth. His hands were roaming over her hips and thighs. Drawing patterns on her skin. Caressing. Kneading. But not in the way she wanted.

"Tell me what you want Caroline."

His voice was husky and arrogant and so very intimate and she felt as if her body had turned to honey. Her juices were pouring on the sheets. She was burning. The mating mark had a life of its own. It was confusing her mind and was burning her body. Her skin was stretching and stretching on her bones. She whimpered and pushed her hand between her legs to create some friction and find some release on her own.

The next thing she knew was that Klaus had trapped her hands above her head. She tried to get free but he gripped her wrists with his hand in a steel trap. She cried out angrily and in so much frustration that she snapped and her face changed. Her fangs dropped and veins pulsated under her eyes. His chest pressed against her back.

"What do you want?" Klaus insisted and Caroline let out a strangled inhuman noise and pressed her body against his more. The mark on her neck sizzled now.

"Fuck me," she begged and when he laughed again she felt that was losing all sanity. The mark blinded her and it burned her and she tasted blood in her mouth from bitting her tongue in anger.

Klaus' nose grazed her cheek and her mouth snapped at him. She was becoming wild. She tried to bite him. She seethed.

He wanted her to beg and he wanted the vampire.

"Please," she cried out.

"Say you are mine," Klaus pushed her more and she hissed. He wanted her submission. It was a primal natural instinct for him but she also knew that this was also part of who he was and that had nothing to do with his wolf. Even without his emotions he was still the same man. A monster.

She pressed her lips and Klaus slapped her ass. Over and over again until she almost came like that but then he stopped. He was hard and she could feel it against her thigh. So close to her hot sex.

Caroline sobbed. He was pushing her towards the edge but denied her what she wanted. It was breaking her into pieces. She writhed under him and his fingers squeezed her ass. He was still holding her hands. She couldn't move but she felt his erection between her legs and it was too much.

"I am yours," she gave in and her voice was empty voice and so hollow. It did not even sound as if it belonged to her anymore.

"Good girl," Klaus purred sounding pleased and Caroline only grabbed the headboard as he finally gripped her hips and with one powerful stroke he pushed his cock inside her. A hoarse scream left her lips as Klaus finally fucked her in the way she wanted. In the way she needed. She felt as if she would die if he wouldn't.

She chanted his name and begged and cried and she felt his pride crumbling down to pieces as he came undone too. When his fangs pierced the skin of her neck and he brought his wrist to her mouth she thought she had reached heaven. Nothing else mattered. The bloodlust took over and both her body and mind yielded.

It was too much. But she couldn't get enough. She lost all sense of time. Klaus' stamina was far greater than hers and hours later when he finally withdrew from her she was so spent that she could hardly move or breathe.

Klaus fell back to his side breathing heavily but she didn't move an inch from the position he had left her. She couldn't even close her legs. Her pillow was wet. Tears and blood had drizzled over the silk and Caroline realized that her face was still damp. More tears were slowly dripping down her face. She couldn't stop them.

Klaus signed contently and stretched. She winched when he pushed back some of her tangled hair from her back and licked the sweat and a few drops of blood that still stained her shoulder blade. He patted her ass, making her feel cheap, and got up from the bed. She breathed heavily and didn't move as he walked naked and barefoot towards the bathroom. Soon she heard the water running as Klaus took his shower.

With difficulty, she brought her knees under her chin and stayed in a fetal position. She felt vulnerable and lost. She remained there unresponsive. This wasn't her. It couldn't be her.

She enjoyed having sex with him so much but it was only physical. She felt so used. She felt so empty and even dirty afterward. She was trying to not initiate it but her body was so strung out. Even thinking about Klaus was getting her wet and whenever he was anywhere near heat was pooling between her thighs. It was so embarrassing and could not hide or control it.

She kept hearing the water running and she gripped the headboard of the bed forcing herself to stay there and not to join him in the shower but it was so hard. She could practically see the water cascading down his muscles. She could still feel his cock inside her. His come was still wet on her thighs. The mark on her neck throbbed.

She moaned and touched herself, tears burning in her eyes. This was torture. She fingered herself and came again in seconds. Klaus' seemed to have had his fill but she was nowhere near satisfied and at the same moment she couldn't take anymore.

Klaus' seemed to be rejuvenated after having sex with her but she was ending up a mess. Adelaide, after the ritual, had told her that this was to be expected and that it would probably last for months if not more. The mating ritual had never been performed on a vampire. She was the first. Practically she had been Klaus' and Adelaide's guinea pig. Klaus didn't care for what would happen to her as long as he got what he wanted.

And now she had to face the consequences.

Klaus' had suppressed his wolf and his need for her for so long and now after the ritual, he was finally at peace. He had found his mate in her, they mated and for him it was bliss. Plus he was much older than her and he had better control over his body and nature more so since he had turned off his emotions. On the other hand, she was young and she wasn't a werewolf or a hybrid like him. Those mate instincts were new and foreign and she probably felt the way Klaus' felt before the ritual. It was torture. Her body was trying to compensate for the maddening wolf instincts their mating bond created in her and she was a vampire with heightened emotions in the end. She was not meant to be a wolf mate but Klaus' didn't care for that so he used magic to force the result he wanted even if it was going against nature. Adelaide, on the other hand, served only Klaus and wanted to create new spells no one else had ever performed before.

And here she was. Paying the price for this insanity. A vampire mated to a hybrid. The witch had told her that she would get used to it. In time. Until then she would have to make do. Because of course this was all about Klaus and she was just collateral damage.

Caroline sniffed feeling as if she had been through the wringer. Physically and emotionally. She would have to drink a lot of blood in order to be able to stand and get through the day and in the meantime, the day was just starting. She still had her training sessions and Klaus' would surely come for seconds later. They had sex every day and night. Many times a day and at night.

She peeked through her eyelashes as he got out from the steaming bathroom. He had wrapped a towel around his hips and as she watched him get dressed she felt hot and heavy with need again. The mating mark throbbed on her neck. She clenched her legs shut and swallowed down the moan that threatened to escape her mouth.

"In half an hour you have your training with the witches," Klaus nonchalantly reminded her and got out of the room.

The moment the door closed unchecked anger coursed in her veins. So much that it broke through her exhaustion and she jumped out of bed. She swayed on her legs and flashed into the bathroom. She locked herself in and leaned against the door. Klaus scent was everywhere and she moaned. She looked down at her naked body. She wanted to have a shower. To rub her skin until it bled. To cleanse her body from his smell. To get every part of him that stuck on her skin and inside her out of her. To erase him. But it would not happen. She instead tripped towards the vanity and gripped the counter of the sink and with shaky hands, she started opening drawers.

She found what she was looking for. A razor.

She broke the handle and quickly dismantled it. The blade fell on her waiting palm. She sniffed and looked in the mirror. She was so hurt. So violated. She felt weak. She had lived this before with Damon and now she was living the same nightmare with a different protagonist in her horrific ordeal. A man she had falsely believed he would not hurt her again. One more broken promise to add to so many others.

She looked her eyes. They were so hollow. She was a victim again. It wasn't supposed to be like that. She had turned into a vampire. She was strong. No one should be able to hurt her now. But they did and the pain was unreal.

A sob tore out of her throat and her body spasmed in agony as she stared at the mark on her neck. It was white and when it was burning it resembled the veins that throbbed under her eyes when her face changed and her vampires features came out to play.

The mating mark was a curse. And she hated it. There were no words to describe how much she loathed the fact that she could not get rid of it. And she had tried. She had tried with a dagger and with fire and with broken glass. Self-harm seemed to be the last straw that was breaking the camel's back for her. She had turned to a truly pathetic shade of who she used to be. But for a moment when that thing was erased from her flesh, she felt good despite the fact that she was maiming a part of her body. It didn't last long though. The skin always healed and with it so did the mark that in reality it was never torn away from her body. It always lingered layers and layers under the surface because it was not just a superficial scar on the skin. It latched on every cell of her body right down to her very soul. It raped her mind, her autonomy, her sense of self. Its magic could not break with razors but she could not stop her hand as she cut her skin at the place where Klaus' fangs had ripped into her neck and marked her forever.

She didn't stagger. She didn't flinch. She didn't whimper. She cut and cut and cut until her neck was mangled and there was a bleeding gaping hole where the mark used to be.

She watched the blood that poured down her body. She felt the agony and the despair and tears streamed down her face when the skin mended and the mark grew back on her neck.

* * *

 _She was floating. She was floating adrift. Following a shadow through a staircase and polished floors._

 _Every step he took she took. Following close behind. She tried to reach for the shadow of the man but her hand passed through it as if she was trying to get a grip on a cloud._

 _She tried to focus._

 _Caroline first smelled Klaus' scent. The shadow carried Klaus' scent. So intense. So known to her body and mind now._

 _Then the first feeling that washed over her was exhaustion. Not the one that attacks the body. But the one that attacks the heart. It was not her exhaustion but at the same moment, it was. She was connected with that emotion._

 _Caroline took one more step and glanced around. She was walking on mist but then she realized that around her walls and floors and tall ceilings were slowly created. The colors were saturated but soon they became vibrant. Like watercolor shapes on the canvas before the painting turned slowly to a movie. There was some static but soon was filtered out and Caroline found herself in familiar territory. She knew the paintings that hang on the walls. She had seen them before. Klaus' had painted them. He had shown some of them to her in his art studio._

 _She had been in this house before. For a ball._

 _She looked around perplexed and then all pieces connected. She was in Klaus' mansion in Mystic Falls only this time there was no crowd or music or people talking and laughing and dancing. There was no champagne. This time there was silence._

 _Silence and Klaus._

 _She wasn't following a shadow. She was following Klaus. He was in his house and so was she and she knew that day. She felt that day. It was the night of the prom._

 _Caroline watched Klaus as he walked through the glass doors and straight into one of his home's corridors. He was dragging his feet. He was exhausted. She looked the reflection in the mirror on the wall. She was not there. Only Klaus was there. She was a ghost. Watching him. Feeling what he felt. Listening to his thoughts. Connecting to his emotions. It was like a bridge between her and him and she was walking the distance._

 _She touched her neck and then pushed her hair back. What was happening? This felt like a dream. She realized that the last time she had experienced anything similar was when she was transitioning into a vampire and Damon's compulsion broke. Back then she was revisiting her own memories. The memories Damon had compelled away. Horrific memories and nothing good to remember. This was similar and very different._

 _Instinctively her fingers pressed at the side of her neck. She felt confused. Lost. There should be a bite mark there shouldn't it? She felt it there. It burned._

 _She shook her head and focused on Klaus. He was exhausted. Exhausted and furious. Furious with Rebekah and Elijah. With the damn cure still being a threat against him. But out of every thorn that wrapped around his heart one was causing him to bleed more._

 _He was furious for letting Tyler Lockwood walk away unscathed. Caroline could feel Klaus' rage. And his pain. He had stood and watched her dancing with Tyler. The memory was still burning in his mind and so it burned into hers too. Through his memory, his eyes, his feelings she saw it too._

 _He stood close to the window and watched them dance. It seemed like a different lifetime. When she loved Tyler. When she had danced with him in her house in secret. And Klaus had watched. And seethed. And longed to had been him she longed for instead of his traitorous hybrid._

 _The first time in a thousand years he had let his vengeance go. Even for a moment. Just enough to allow Tyler to run away._

" _For Caroline," Klaus thought, "It was worth it."_

 _Caroline's heart skipped a beat. She could hear his thoughts. She could feel him. For her. It was all for her. Because of her. And it was worth it. He had put her first._

 _She should be angry with him. For driving Tyler out of town but he had given her the night of her dreams. Because deep down he cared. Despite himself, he cared and she felt it._

 _She followed him as he walked into the living room and she leaned against the wall. The fire from the fireplace was crackling. The room was emerged in the light and the shadows the fire cast._

 _Klaus craved blood and alcohol. And so did she. At the edge of her throat and tongue._

 _His emotions were a roller coaster and then his eyes caught the sight of the envelope between the bourbon decanter and the glasses. Caroline stood straighter and tilted her head to the side. She walked closer to Klaus. The envelope had his name and had taken him out of his train of previous thoughts._

 _He knew that handwriting. And because he did so did she._

 _Klaus stared at his name written on the stationery cream paper. He had chased Katerina Petrova for five centuries. Or at least made her think he had. Enough to drive her crazy and to have her on her toes. Enough to ruin her life. To turn her paranoid and to relish in her misery. Should he truly want her in his grasp he would have had her a long time ago. He always knew where she was. He knew what she was plotting._

 _He sure knew her handwriting._

 _He turned the envelope in his hands and watched with sharp eyes the wax seal with Katherine's initial in the stamp. Caroline could feel the texture of the paper on her hands as Klaus carefully broke the wax and unfolded it._

 _Caroline watched over his shoulder. But she realized she didn't have to. She was reading it through his eyes. She followed him as he moved into the room and read the letter. She tried to hold his shoulder but her hand passed through him. This was a memory. He could not see her. She was not there for him._

 _She held her breath as he read Katherine's letter. As he opened his mouth and let out a long breath. As he licked his lips. She felt his tongue on her lips as he did that. It was the weirdest sensation. She touched her lips with her fingers. She shivered but focused on Klaus. Completely. She was in sync with him._

 _She felt his surprise and shock and she felt how his attention shifted. How every word sparked anger and rage inside him. How he worried. Every word forced memories and pain in him but his brain was already planning ahead._

 _Caroline looked at the letter in his hand. She was reading it too. She could even imagined Katherine's taunting voice in her head in the way Klaus did._

" _Klaus,_

 _I hear Elijah has refused you the cure, and in return you have refused my freedom. Shame on you both. But while you boys sort out your problems, I have one last thing to offer you. I have caught wind that there is a witch in New Orleans named Jane-Anne Deveraux plotting a move against you. Hunt her down. What she has to say will rattle you so deeply to your core that chasing little old me will be the least of your concerns. It's been a fun five centuries Klaus, but I've worn down too many good heels running from you._

 _Love, and hate._

 _Katerina."_

 _Caroline felt Klaus' bitter anger for Katherine Pierce. But that faded fast._

 _She felt his nostalgia for New Orleans and the ache in his heart. It was twisting him inside and she felt it so keenly. She felt the emotions the letter evoked. There was one that prevailed._

 _Danger._

 _This terror was not new. He should have been used to it by now. His siblings believed him to be paranoid but that fear had kept him alive. That was how he had survived. How all of them had survived. By being afraid and by not trusting anyone. By listening to that fear. It was the same fear Klaus had felt a thousand times before when Mikael was hunting him. When he had to always look behind his back. When his enemies always plotted against him. When he had gone into hiding for decades. When he daggered his brothers and his sister for their own good. When he was the prey._

 _He folded the paper despite his urgent need to tear it to pieces. He was not prey any longer. He was the hunter. He had broken his curse. He had turned into a Hybrid. He had killed Mikael._

 _And his enemies still kept coming. And he was still not happy. He was still alone. He still had to look behind his back and he knew this was a trap._

 _The letter was bait. He was not an idiot. Katerina had a set a trap for him but with the cure still hanging over his head he could not just ignore this. Not when New Orleans was calling him back._

 _Caroline felt it. She felt it all. She felt the danger and she touched her neck. The scar. She knew it somehow. It would all go terribly wrong. This was wrong. It was all wrong. It was all screwed up. He shouldn't go. It would not end well._

 _She tried to touch him. To shake him. To yell at him to stay._

 _She felt the moment when he decided to leave Mystic Falls and with every ounce of her being she wanted to scream at him to not go._

 **"No! Don't go!"**

Caroline jolted up completely disoriented.

The scream tore out of her throat and jarred her whole body. Her fangs had dropped. She felt fear. Undiluted fear. It was shaking her to the core. It was prompting her to do something. To run. To hide. To do something. Something. Anything. She had to go to New Orleans.

Caroline pushed her head into her palms and let out a muffled moan. She was dripping with sweat.

It was just one more dream, she thought, just a dream.

She felt faint and hungry. So worn out. She looked around trying to remember what had happened. She had fallen asleep in the middle of the day. Again.

She rubbed her eyes and cursed. Klaus had turned her into a narcoleptic vampire. Her eyes were constantly drooping. She was so jaded and constantly drowsy. But this time was different. This time the dream felt so real. It was so vivid and now reality seemed to pale in comparison.

She massaged her temples as flashes from her latest dream played out in her mind. Like a movie. This time she retained every detail.

She was starting to remember more details from the dreams now. They were becoming more clear and real. At this point, she felt as if she was never asleep, to begin with. And this last dream was the worst of them. And this time she remembered it.

Her body convulsed with fatigue. She should tell Klaus what was going on. Despite every instinct of hers telling her not to.

She hadn't so far because she didn't want his witches to meddle with her brain and body anymore. Magic had caused this against her will and she didn't want to have Klaus and his witches experiment on her anymore. But this did not feel natural. This was not just post-traumatic stress or the usual night terrors she had her whole life. Maybe the magic of the ritual had backfired. There had to be an explanation.

What was going on? Adelaide had not mentioned such side effects.

She looked in the mirror that was set opposite to the bed and drew a sharp breath. She was very pale. Ashen.

She needed blood and fast because she could swear that she was on the verge of desiccating.

This was hell. She was in hell.

She didn't know what else to do so she just screamed into the pillow.

* * *

Caroline went into Klaus study and closed the door behind her. No one of his minions stopped her or bothered her. After the ritual, everyone seemed to be respecting her in the same way they respected Klaus. Of course, their allegiance only lied with Klaus and despite the fact that she did not like the fact that everyone considered her to be Klaus' mate or basically his possession and mistress she was grateful for the break she was getting. Her training hadn't stopped but she had some more room to breathe now. There were no magical barriers and she didn't feel as if everyone was constantly breathing down her neck. They were spying on her from a distance.

She immediately noticed Klaus' absence. He was missing ever since morning. God only knew where he was but who was she to stare a gift horse in the mouth? Mr. Original gloom and doom could stay away for centuries for all she cared.

She winced when the mark on her neck sizzled a bit and she felt a stabbing ache of arousal in her belly. Even thinking of Klaus or the possibility of him being out of her life for so long had her body reacting in ways she hated.

She stomped her foot down. She would get a cold shower later. And hopefully, Klaus would be back to scratch that annoying itch for her. Despite how she felt afterwards she needed it. It was purely physical and if he was so keen on using her body like that then she could return the favor and use him the same way. At least the sex was hot. Even thinking about it had her twisted and aroused beyond belief. It was nerve-wracking.

She bit the inside of her cheek and wiped the drops of sweat that formed on her forehead with the back of her hand. This was becoming ridiculous! She hoped that need would ease up in time because as sure as hell she wouldn't spend her eternity lusting for Klaus Mikaelson like that!

She angrily strode to his desk. One of Klaus' witches had told her that the _Prince of Machiavelli_ was in Klaus' study and that he had left it on his desk for her.

The last thing she wanted was to read anything. She was so tired. She needed to sleep but she was set on not falling asleep ever again. She would rather not sleep at all than to have to go through those freaky dreams. She was a vampire. She could handle insomnia.

She sighed and cracked her fingers and neck. Why did she have to read Machiavelli's book when she was living with him every day?

She was so bored of reading the stuff Klaus wanted. It was as if she had returned back to school and she had to do her homework for her professor. A very cruel and maniacal professor that was set on teaching her how to turn to a killing machine so to serve his plans for world domination. But of course, that was her luck. When other vampires turned off their switch they cared for nothing. But no that couldn't happen to her. Klaus now only cared to make her life a living hell. A living hot x-rated hell. Damn him!

She mumbled a few curses and searched for the book. It was a very old edition and she leaned at the desk ready to get a closer look to the book and decide if she would go read it at the garden or at one of the patio pools when she felt a weird tingling sensation. She couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. It felt like a flutter in her stomach. As if something was crawling inside her and was ending in an annoying pinching at the mark on her neck. She scratched the mark and tried to focus on the book but then an uncanny feeling washed over her. She put the book down. She closed her eyes. It was like a whisper. More like many whispers. Mumbling incoherently.

She was somehow drawn towards something else. She looked at the mantle of the fireplace. She doesn't know how exactly but she felt pulled towards it as if she was in a trance.

Very, very, slowly she got up from the desk and went at the mantelpiece. It was made from wood. Carved by hand. Her fingers caressed the intricate carvings. She didn't know how exactly but she was certain that Klaus had carved them. It seemed to be his style and somehow she knew his style.

Her eyebrow arched when she noticed the _'M'_ carving at the center of the design. She pressed it and her other hand flashed under the mantle and a wooden box with metal wire edges fell in her waiting palm.

She stared at the box she was now holding. Klaus had hidden it in a secret chamber in his fireplace.

"That's weird," Caroline mumbled and inspected the box. It was not that heavy. And it was a puzzle box with an _'M'_ insignia on the top. She hummed and pouted.

Yeah, she was totally gonna check what it was. Klaus must have kept it hidden for a reason and if he was allowed to abuse and imprison her at the ends of the world then she was definitely allowed to snoop around. Sticks and stones and the important thing was not to get caught anyway.

She turned around the wires of the box and tried to wiggle the pieces to the right position but of course, it wouldn't be so easy.

She tried to open it again and again but she couldn't. Force wouldn't work. She didn't want to break it.

She knew that sooner or later Klaus would return. She had to hurry.

She heard those whispers again in her head again. Like they were guiding her. And if she focused just enough she could swear that it was Klaus' voice whispering. It was such a hazy feeling.

She narrowed her eyes and instinctively she rubbed her thumb and index fingers together in thought before she purposely cut her finger on the edge of the box and watched with keen eyes as the drop of blood slowly moved over the metal wire and was absorbed by the metal _'M'_ insignia of the box at the top surface. She then heard a soft unlocking click. She tried to open the box again but she couldn't.

"Are you kidding me now? What is this? Indiana Jones?" she grumbled irked.

She pressed her lips frustrated and gripped the box harder. She didn't want to break it. She inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath. She focused her hearing and her instincts in her surroundings. She didn't want to get caught snooping around. Maybe she should put the box back and forget about it but she had a nagging feeling about it. It was such a strong sense of familiarity. She moved the puzzle pieces of the box again. She concentrated. She felt as if she should know how to open the box, as if she had done this a hundred times. As if her fingers could guide her.

She closed her eyes and let instinct take over. Her fingers moved again. Piece by piece. The pieces turned and connected. The metal groaned. It was like muscle memory and then…she gasped as the box opened with a soft sound.

Her eyes went round. This was so weird. She looked inside the small compartment of the box. There were some folded papers, two vials of blood and some necklaces. She touched the papers and shuffled around the contents of the box. She huffed at her carelessness as a piece of paper fell at her feet. Damn it! She had to make sure everything was left as she found them because she didn't want Klaus to find out she had gone through his stuff. She didn't want to have to face any consequences for her curiosity but at the same time, she wanted to make sure she could find something that could maybe help her out of this predicament. Any leverage. Anything really. This was what Klaus was training her for right? To find her enemies' weaknesses and use them against them. And Klaus was her enemy.

An enemy that seemed to be covering his tracks and he had her trapped without any chance of escaping him. From the mating bond right down to the internal locator spell he had cast inside her. He kept her under lock and key with all his witches and groupies and his constant paranoia. She had no way out. Still, there had to be something. And that box seemed so familiar and there had to be a reason as to why Klaus had used such locks on it.

Why was she drawn to it? And how did she open it? It felt out of place to be so lucky but she wasn't one to complain about it.

She crouched down and got the folded paper from the floor and she felt her heart jump a beat.

That broken wax seal. The _'K'_ letter on the stamp _._ She knew that stamp! _Katherine._

It wasn't just the box. She somehow knew this paper was actually what she was drawn to. She knew it. She didn't know how but she did.

She carefully set the box on the floor and cautiously but warily unfolded the delicate paper.

Her eyes roamed over the ink and the lines. The handwriting was calligraphic. And she knew it. She had seen it before. She would recognize it anywhere.

She shook her head. This couldn't be. It wasn't possible!

She read the letter over and over again and almost crumbled the thin paper in her hands.

 _Klaus…_

… _.Elijah… refused you the cure…you ….refused …my freedom. Shame on you…_

She kept reading with bated breath.

… _there is a witch in New Orleans ….Jane-Anne Deveraux plotting ….against you._

She remembered this. The handwriting. The letter. The feeling of danger. The demanding need to go to New Orleans.

The same words. The same letter. It was a trap. She had read this before. Only she hadn't. Not really.

… _Hunt her down. What she has to say will rattle you so deeply to your core…_

Impossible!

… _five centuries Klaus…running from you…_

… _Love, and hate._

This was Katherine's letter!

Caroline gaped at the paper. She didn't have to read it. She could recite it from memory. A memory that was not hers. A memory that came to her in a dream.

A dream?

"They are not dreams," Caroline whispered in awe, her fingers flying to the mark on her neck.


	16. Blood Snow

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story is very dark and includes graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Chapter warnings: Abuse, strong sexual content.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 ** _Spain. North of Seville._**

 ** _Year 1700._**

 _Caroline turned her head to the side feeling physically sick. She didn't want to watch this. She didn't want to be here._

 _She was standing just a few feet away from the bed. She was intruding a very personal moment but she was nothing but a ghost. She almost remembered why she was there. She shouldn't be but she felt what Klaus felt and saw what he saw. She lived what he lived or better yet she lived through him._

 _This was not right._

 _She felt as if she was suffocating in the scorching heat of Spain and she wanted to scream. She should be in that bed. He should be touching only her. Possessive feelings burst inside her and her fingers scratched her neck. She touched the mark Klaus had given her and she felt tears gathering in her eyes._

 _This was not right._

 _Caroline watched as Klaus grunted and his hips gave a few more thrusts until finally, the orgasm shook his body. His fangs slipped in the witch's neck when her legs that were wrapped around his waist squeezed him hard and he drank his fill as the body of his lover underneath him gave into spasms until the woman screamed her release. Caroline grimaced when the woman's fingers gripped Klaus' long hair and she moaned slowly coming down of her high while his tongue lapped the bloody wound that her magic soon healed._

 _Klaus rolled over to his side and leaned back at the wooden headboard of the bed. Sweat ran down his body and his hair, wet and heavy, stuck on his neck. He hated the wretched heat of Spain and he almost rolled his eyes at the soft satisfied purr of the woman that snuggled closer to him until she rested her head on his chest._

 _Caroline smirked at that. She felt content in knowing that he didn't belong to that witch. That he felt annoyed and that he didn't care._

 _She frowned. Right now she could feel Klaus' emotions. He had his switch turned on. He never felt anything when he was with her aside primal sex drive. Here he was himself. And she missed that. She had never known him like this. Centuries younger with long hair. She wanted to meet that man. Or to get back the man she had met in Mystic Falls. At least the man that once truly cared for her._

 _Caroline gulped down and felt lost. Why couldn't she have him? Where was she? She looked around and realized she was in a dream. It had to be._

 _She looked at the medieval setting of the room. She was in a castle and she was not born in this age. This was not her dream._

 _She staggered back. Memories started breaking through her confusion. Klaus had marked her and she was dreaming. She was dreaming of him._

 _Her lips twisted in revulsion when she looked back at the bed and watched Klaus and Adelaide._

 _Despite the way Klaus felt in that moment he acted as if he was content. Instead of letting any sound of complaint he let his fingers dive into Adelaide's long black locks and he massaged the nape of her neck slowly drawing circles on her sweaty back._

 _'She might be a witch', Klaus thought and so did Caroline as his thoughts bounced in her head, 'but she was still a human'. And for a human Klaus had to admit that Ruve Adelaide d'Amboise Richelieu had quite the stamina._

 _"Ruve Adelaide d'Amboise Richelieu."_

 _That was her true name Caroline thought and she hoped she'd never forget it. Klaus was the one that was teaching her to never forget the names those she marked for death. A name had power. It had information and history to share. And Caroline one day would hold power over that witch and over Klaus. One day._

 _Caroline shook her head and centered her attention solely on Klaus. She forced herself to pay attention to every detail. To the naked bodies on the bed. To the surroundings. To Klaus' thoughts._

 _Adelaide, as she preferred to be called, was one of the best witches Klaus had in his retinue and Caroline -despite any irrational jealousy the mark sparked inside her heart at the sight she was facing- scoffed at her mate's manipulative nature. Niklaus Mikaelson allowed Adelaide to cuddle because it would be a pity for him to lose the advantage of such an ally just because he so happened to have grown tired of her in bed._

 _The relief Caroline felt was almost like bliss. Klaus was only using Adelaide and felt nothing for her. He wanted her as his witch servant. One that he could use for complicated spells like an internal locator spell or a mating ritual. Caroline's palms turned into fists; she pressed her lips and closed her eyes to calm herself._

 _She paced back and forth before she was able to glance back at the disgusting sight of Klaus and Adelaide on the bed together._

 _For gaining access to her witchcraft skills Klaus did not mind fucking the witch and occasionally throwing her crumbs of intimacy. He had after all come to the realization that witches were far less dangerous and much more prone to be of use if he charmed and bedded them than torture and behead them._

" _What is on your mind?" Adelaide's voice invaded their combined thoughts and Klaus' and Adelaide's eyes met for a moment before he sat up and let go of her._

" _I can feel him," Klaus growled with a snide tone and Caroline understood that Adelaide did not need to ask who 'him' was. The Mikaelsons only evoked one name with such animosity and dread. Caroline knew who that 'him' was. She always knew because Klaus always knew._

 _Klaus could feel him coming closer. It was like a sixth sense of his to feel danger and the only thing that could even remotely resemble danger for him and his siblings was no one else than Mikael._

" _The witches and their cursed spirits aid him to his quest against us," Klaus said but the deceptive silk of his tone could not veil the menace that lingered in his voice and made Caroline shiver. But most of all it made her hate. She could sense Klaus' hate. It was hers too and it burned stronger than any other emotion she had felt in her entire life._

 _Adelaide lazily stretched next to Klaus and got up from the bed letting her tousled hair fall on her back. Caroline shuddered as the witch walked right next to her not minding her nudity. Adelaide walked barefoot towards the wine carafe and poured the strong red liquid into two glasses._

 _"Okay I may actually throw up," Caroline whispered and wondered if she could indeed throw up in a dream._

" _There could be a way to sever the connection Mikael has with the witches of the other side," Adelaide pondered out loud and Klaus watched her curiously but said nothing. Instead, he waited for her to unravel whatever wicked plan she had been crafting in her mind. Caroline realized that Klaus was always like this. Planning. Thinking steps ahead. Taking precautions. His mind was a Machiavellian maze. Of course, she and her friends never stood a chance against him._

 _Adelaide approached Klaus, swaying her hips seductively and gave him the one glass with a smile. Klaus took it, his gaze locked with hers._

" _What do you know about New Orleans?" the witch asked him and Klaus gulped down his wine with a disgusted eye roll._

" _It's a swamp," he mumbled with a dismissive flick of his head and Adelaide sipped her wine slowly. Klaus did not miss the mischief in the eyes of the witch._

" _Have you ever wondered why progress never reached that so-called swamp?" Adelaide questioned with a suggestive look and Caroline felt Klaus' irritation._

 _Klaus let his glass on the floor next to the bed and took Adelaide's glass from her hands and put it on the floor too._ _He was getting tired of that woman's games. Swiftly he gripped her hips and pulled her on his lap._

 _Adelaide giggled as she straddled him._

 _"Okay, I will definitely throw up! I need to wake up now before round two!" she mumbled feeling as if she was trapped inside Klaus' mind. This was traumatizing and she couldn't take any more trauma. She had reached her quota for at least ten lifetimes. The mark on her neck burned but no matter how much she tried she couldn't wake up. She averted her eyes from the nauseating sight but she felt what Klaus' was feeling. She felt Adelaide's skin on her hands as if she was touching her too._

 _This was so sick!_

" _Superstition and stupidity?" Klaus played along as he ran down his palms over the witch's breasts making sure to graze her pebbled nipples with his nails._

 _Caroline inhaled deeply and wished she could have claws too. To tear them both apart._

" _More like common sense," Adelaide stuttered as her passion was renewed under Klaus' expert hands. She gripped his hand and pushed it between her legs until it covered her wet folds._

 _Caroline turned around and threw her head back watching the tall ceiling._

" _The witches of New Orleans and their covens are paying homage to the old ways," Adelaide breathed out hard as Klaus fingered her, "they are guarding the entrances not allowing anyone they don't want to set roots," the witch panted and Klaus only hummed as he pushed the head of his cock into Adelaide's dripping hole enticing the answer out of her._

 _"Seriously?" Caroline gagged and clenched her eyes shut. This was not a good feeling. This was disturbing as hell and she closed her ears with her hands mumbling incoherent noises to drawn out every other noise. She was not waking up and she felt what Klaus felt and she wanting to start screaming until the end of days._

 _Adelaide threw her head back allowing her body to bask in what she obviously felt as delicious friction. Klaus' hands roamed over the witch's back bringing her closer. Her breasts crashed into his chest and he softly bit her ear. He nibbled and sucked the sensitive skin letting the tip of his tongue swirl at the spot behind the witch's ear that always turned her weak with need._

" _Do you know what makes the New Orleans witches different from every other witch in the world Niklaus?" Adelaide whispered breathlessly and bounced up and down Klaus' cock moaning and heaving and Klaus held her tight from the hips as he titled his head up so to face her. He was seducing the answer out of her with sex. And because Caroline could feel what Klaus felt she felt as if she was having sex with Adelaide too._

 _'Just great, Caroline thought, 'this was her personal hell."_

 _"_ _Necromancy for one," Adelaide whispered and the darkness in her eyes made Klaus still._

 _Adelaide took control and fucked him and Caroline wanted to cry. Misery and repulsion took over every other feeling. And when Klaus' came just after Adelaide Caroline felt his orgasm rippling through her body and it was unwanted and she felt so violated._

 _Adelaide sighed and covered Klaus' body with her own. She crossed her arms over his chest and pressed her chin on her intertwined fingers as she lifted her gaze into Klaus' awaiting one._

 _Caroline felt empty. It was not just her emptiness. It was Klaus'. He felt nothing. This had been just sex. More or less a chore so to get the answers he wanted._

" _Consider New Orleans as an endless tomb of consecrated bones and ash," Adelaide started, "under every inch of it. Endless remains scattered and blessed everywhere. Under every step. Buried so deep in the mud and the dirt and then buried over new bones. Bones of the supernatural," she whispered as if the dead could hear them, "even of those that had not died there but had their corpses given to the New Orleans witches as gifts."_

 _Klaus' interest was now piqued and Caroline realized that if Klaus was so interested in this she should be too._

" _For thousands of years. Ever since the birth of magic," Adelaide informed him and Caroline turned around and stared at them again._

" _How don't I know of this?"_

 _Caroline understood the magnitude of Klaus' question. He was an Original. He had lived for centuries and had traveled the ends of the earth searching for ways to break his curse. And yet such a secret was hidden from him. From all vampires. It only meant one thing. That information was worth a lot._

" _Only the witches of New Orleans or those that are born in their consecrated ground have this knowledge," Adelaide answered with a knowing smile._

" _You were born in New Orleans," Klaus stated and Caroline blinked. Now that was interesting. She had Adelaide's name and her place of birth._

" _Indeed."_

 _Klaus hummed and Caroline rolled her eyes at the seductive gaze Adelaide sent him._

" _Give me a break," Caroline groused._

" _You see this kind of magic creates a different kind of potential," Adelaide said, "New Orleans is more than the witches that draw power from the dead. It is the city of the dead. Literally. It is a living connection between this side and the other side. A door," she explained and then smiled conspiratorially, "one you could use."_

 _Klaus' eyes narrowed._

" _How?"_

" _First of all, you could find harbor there. The magic of the living witches, of Mikael's witches, cannot reach New Orleans. You could throw him off your tail," she offered and Klaus' eyes lit up and Caroline felt the hope that bloomed inside him at that possibility. It was enticing and he knew it could be a trap and that Adelaide was either setting him up or using him to gain something but he was willing to take the risk. The bigger the risk the biggest the reward and getting rid of Mikael was the greatest reward anyone could offer him. And maybe the answers to breaking his curse were in New Orleans._

 _Caroline smiled sadly. It would be centuries until he would break his curse. Until he would come to Mystic Falls and would step into her life. It was so weird to think that she was living a moment right now that existed only to memory. She was not even born at this time. But Klaus had been alive for seven centuries already. He had lived so much. She was starting to realize how much older than her he actually was and how futile it was to go up against him._

" _However you would be exchanging one demon for another because the New Orleans witches are not to be trifled with," Adelaide warned him, "but if you could," she tempted him and Klaus took the bait knowing all too well the consequences, "if you could challenge their power and win then you could harness the power of every coven you would kill and you could use that power in order to break the connection Mikael's witches have with the other side. Permenantly. Not only you would be able to kill the witches that aid Mikael here on earth but also curse those that help him from the far beyond."_

 _Caroline tensed. She couldn't tell who was corrupting who anymore. Both Klaus and Adelaide were horrible influences on each other but they knew how to play this game. And if she ever hoped to defeat them and set herself free she had to learn too._

 _It seemed to her that New Orleans was a hotspot of power. And Caroline needed power too. The same power Klaus had wanted in order to get rid of his enemies. Klaus had sold his soul to the devil for power. Just so he could win Mikael._

 _Caroline let out a slow breath. Klaus was her Mikael. And she realized that in order to get rid of him she would have to walk through Klaus' steps. To lead his path. Even if it would take her a thousand years._

" _You would be untraceable once more," Adelaide's promise was laced with honey and temptation and Caroline felt her heart skip a bit. It was what Klaus craved but it was what she also craved. It was not just Klaus' emotions. She wanted this too. She wanted to find a way to get under cover and become untraceable. To break the locator spell that marked her bones and soul. The one Adelaide had cast on her, "and you could hide in plain sight. No one would expect from a vampire to find refuge in the land of the living and dead witches after all."_

" _Is this even possible?" Klaus uttered and Caroline spoke the same words at the same time._

" _With me by your side," Adelaide sang sweetly and Caroline didn't need to channel Klaus' thoughts and emotions so to know this Adelaide's goal was this all along, "you would need me to harness all the power from the deceased covens."_

" _And what do you have to gain out of it?" Klaus played along and Caroline rolled her eyes at his attempt to sound clueless._

 _Adelaide cupped his face with her hands and Caroline wanted nothing more than to tear off her limbs and beat her with them. So maybe she was more in sync with Klaus than she already thought because she was starting to feel and think like him on her own._

" _What else Niklaus?" the witch smiled and kissed him softly, "Power."_

 _Caroline felt Adelaide's lips on her own as the witch kissed Klaus but this time the kiss felt like a promise. A promise of deliverance and maybe it was._

 _She wanted the same thing as Klaus once did. The same kind of magic that had shielded New Orleans and harbored the dead and the living for centuries. The same kind of magic that had made New Orleans the door between the Other Side and this world. That kind of power could be the power that could set her free._

 _It was the kind of magic Klaus had wanted all his life and the one he would get no matter how many witches he would have to seduce, blackmail, torture and kill._

 _Caroline didn't have to be in his mind and memories to know that this was exactly what Klaus had done._

 _No wonder the witches of New Orleans hated Klaus so much and cursed him all these centuries later._

* * *

Caroline opened her eyes groggily still dozing in and out from one of her naps. She fervently wiped the taste of Adelaide's kiss from her mouth. The sensation still lingered there as it did in her whole body. Caroline shuddered and looked around.

The sun was still high up in the sky and she realized she had fallen asleep on one of the bedroom's armchairs. She barely had time to push down the disgust she felt from the dream and to tame the emotions of anger she felt as one more memory of Klaus' washed over her. This time it was an x-rated porno starring him and that hateful witch.

Caroline rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand but couldn't shake back the feeling that this dream was not like the others. For some reason it was important. She couldn't control the dreams she was getting but she felt as if she was on the verge of summoning more and more details and navigating them better once she was locked inside Klaus' past.

 _New Orleans._

She recalled another dream she had. The one with Katherine's letter. Klaus had gone to New Orleans and when he returned he didn't have his emotions. He had already told her that it was witches that had cast the spell on his humanity switch.

Maybe this was the answer she was looking after all. She knew that with the locator spell and the mating mark it would be impossible to escape Klaus and go there without him knowing but something deep down in her gut told her that she had to find a way. Somehow. But for now, it was a first step in the right direction. It had to be.

Caroline sighed and closed her eyes again. Maybe if she tried to conjure those dreams instead of letting her exhaustion to bring them forth she could be able to handle this situation better. Maybe even actually get Klaus' memories of New Orleans. The answer to turn back his switch could be there.

Her eyes snapped open before she had a chance to even try to fall asleep again and soon enough the steps came closer and closer and the hairs on the back of her neck lifted in warning. She could feel him. Klaus was close and even at this kind of proximity, she felt her whole body straining like the string of a guitar.

The door opened and Klaus strode in. Caroline watched him as his eyes searched for her. She knew that gaze. It was hungry.

For her.

The difference from how he watched Adelaide in that memory from the way he was watching her now was breathtaking. And right now he didn't even have his humanity.

She barely had time to blink when Klaus sped at her chair and pulled her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she sighed when his mouth crashed on hers. Her fingers sunk into his shoulders as he led them both in the shower.

He didn't even ask her. As always.

But this time this felt a thousand times worse. She was still reeling from the dream. She could still see him and feel him fucking Adelaide and it was just too soon. Anger flared inside her. Just the thought of him and Adelaide together made her furious and the mark on her neck throbbed so much that she felt as if someone was tearing out her throat. She was disgusted and angry and so damn wet!

Klaus pushed her against the glass shower doors and continued kissing her with the kind of fervor that erased every other thought from her mind. He was kissing and biting and tearing her clothes away. She drank from him the blood she desperately needed. She was so drained from the dream and Klaus' blood was euphoria morphed in warm red liquid. He was drinking from her too but after the ritual, his bite was not poisoning her anymore. She didn't need his blood to cure her any longer. She was immune. And their blood sharing was only one more way to get instant delicious gratification. It felt like another kind of sex. And she craved it even more than the blood itself.

Her back hit the tile wall and the steaming water sprayed their naked bodies. Under the water, she started biting him back just as Klaus explored her folds with expert fingers making her moan into his mouth. Water splashed all around them and their hips bucked back and forth. Her hard nipples grinded against the hard muscles of his chest as the hot water cascaded over them. There was no room between their bodies when Klaus fingered her and curled his fingers inside her slit until he brushed a sensitive spot that made her scream.

This felt so good and it was so maddening. The dream she had flashed beneath her closed eyes. Vomit started gathering up in her throat. Erotic flashes of Klaus fucking Adelaide invaded the moment and Caroline felt sick. Klaus right now was not the Klaus she had seen in her reverie. This Klaus had no emotions but truly wanted her. This Klaus craved her body more than he craved blood and that thought alone made her smile. Maybe she was losing her mind.

She whined when Klaus withdrew his hand. She used her speed and strength and whirled them around until she managed to push him back to the tiles. He let her and when she looked up she saw him watching her through hooded amber eyes. Blood was coating her mouth. His blood. His taste. Steam had wrapped them in mist. Water drops had gathered in her eyelids and blurred his beautiful face and his damp hair.

She could barely breathe. Their bodies were slippery from the water as Klaus's hands moved over and squeezed her ass. She reached down and pumped his hard cock in her palm guiding him into her waiting depths. She moaned as she took control and fucked him. Hard, fast. Punishing him for everything he had seen in that dream and for everything he had done to her. Their fucking was savage and the only thing she needed right now. She lost control until they both came with their teeth deep into each others' necks.

Her knees buckled but before she could lose her balance she was once more pushed against the wall. This time it was her breasts that collided with the slippery tiles as Klaus fucked her from behind returning the favor and reminding her who had the power and how he was the one that allowed her these fleeting moments of sexual domination.

She tried to get a grip on something but she couldn't. She was soaking wet. Her body was throbbing. The mark was burning. Water was raining over her body that hummed with more sensations than she could take. Her blood was mixing with the water and created rivulets down her body until a red lake was gathering at their feet and was rushing down the drain. Klaus' chest was glued to her back. His fingers clawed her hips and pushed and pulled her lower body in the way he wanted. He was not leaving her any room to breathe. Her feet barely touched the shower floor as she was being lifted up and pushed down Klaus' hardness brutally. His cock was thrusting inside her, his pelvis was hitting her backside and he pounded in and out of her without mercy. When he bit the mark she shrieked in agony and pleasure. So much pleasure that it felt like agony.

Tiles cracked when she punched them trying to find relief as she came again with a breathless scream. Klaus's come mingled with her juices and dripped down her wet thighs. He pulled back from her and Caroline felt her body sliding down as Klaus simply reached for the shower gel and the shampoo. He casually took his shower and pushed back the foam and the excess water from his head and body.

Caroline closed her eyes and only pushed her knees under her chin. She glanced up at Klaus' body as he towered naked over her. Satisfied he no longer cared about what happened to her. She shivered and hated herself for the desire she still felt. She wanted to come again so badly. The mark on her neck felt like a brand of fire and she felt as if she was indeed a wolf and she was in heat. Tears fell from her eyes but the water that was hitting her body covered them.

When Klaus stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his body he only told her to get ready and not to be late for her training. She had to meet the witches in an hour and she needed to catch up with her reading.

Caroline barely heard him as he dressed in the adjoining room and left the bedroom leaving her on the shower floor feeling empty and broken.

She closed her eyes and let the water drown her in dreams and despair.

New Orleans was so far away.

* * *

Days had passed. Caroline had lost all sense of time. She was lost in a never-ending cycle of dreams, pain, and sex. She never missed her training despite the fact that she was falling in pieces. Klaus was exhausting her and he was not allowing her any room to breathe or exist outside the schedule he had created for her. His needs came first. He was drinking mostly her blood these days and she became his living sex toy.

He could tell her a thousand times she was his mate but truth was that she was nothing but a sex toy he used when he felt like it. It was demeaning and degrading. His stamina far surpassed hers and was limitless. He only cared to make her submit and to scratch whatever primal itch his wolf had for her. There were no emotions involved and Caroline felt used every single time. She had never felt that way before. Not even with Damon. And as if that was not enough when Klaus was done with her she still had to go through his lessons. She had no free time. She had no hope of escaping him. And she couldn't believe that this would become her eternity. It was cruel and pointless and she didn't want it.

And yet what she wanted didn't matter. Not when she knew that Klaus had no qualms about hurting her. He would kill her mother and never think twice. He would lock her in and take away even any possibility to attempt to end it all. She was progressively losing herself and her mind. She was becoming hollow inside.

She was stuck in her own twisted version of groundhog day. She was living the same day over and over again. Endless rounds of rough sex before and after her naps and training.

She had no energy left. All her body ached no matter how much blood she would drink. She didn't feel like a vampire anymore. She felt like a zombie. There was no respite. No hope. No break. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't handle her mind and her body.

The mark on her neck was killing her. She was coming apart. And the only person that could actually help her through this was the one that was inflicting this abuse on her.

When she barged into his study Klaus was sitting behind his desk carving one of his new chest pieces.

She felt the need to make him eat his carved pawns one by one. And why did he care to make them anyway? What kind of emotionless vampire was he?

She closed the door with force but he didn't bother to even spare her a glance.

"Why aren't ready for your training?" he asked referring to her everyday sessions. And truth was that high heeled boots and skirts were not suitable for getting her ass kicked and handed to her.

She glowered at him and walked closer to his desk trying not to peek at the mantle of the fireplace where Klaus kept Katherine's letter. Thankfully he hadn't found out what she had done.

"I need answers," she demanded.

Klaus' lips stretched into a slow smile as he continued working with his chisel.

"Do you, now?"

"This thing," she almost yelled pointing at her scarred neck, "is driving me crazy!"

Klaus smirked.

"I asked you many times and you avoid explaining. All you say is that _it is…a mating mark love,_ " she said sarcastically imitating his stupid annoying accent.

Klaus lifted his gaze and watched her amused.

"That's because I prefer for you to experience it and understand what it means on your own," he said.

Caroline gestured wildly.

"That could take years!"

"Probably," he agreed and the mirth in his tone made Caroline see red.

"Klaus!" she practically hollered stomping her foot down.

Klaus sighed and Caroline realized that he was becoming way too comfortable with his no emotions thing he had going on. So much that it was easy for her to forget that he didn't have any emotions, to begin with.

His gaze traveled over her body before it locked with her defiant one. He let the wood piece down and leaned back in his chair.

"Are you going to keep on being so difficult?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed wanting to hurl something at his head for daring to say that she was being difficult when he was the one treating her like this.

"Fine."

Caroline blinked.

"Fine?" she asked not expecting him to cave in.

"Go ahead," he relented, "Ask."

She pointed at the mark on her neck.

"Explain!"

Klaus licked his lips and Caroline tried to keep her resolve but it wasn't easy. They were too close and the mark on her neck was burning. She felt as if she wore nothing and was utterly exposed and vulnerable in front of Klaus and her mind was going at the gutter again thinking of all the sinful things his tongue could do to her.

"What do _you_ think it is?" Klaus taunted her and Caroline rolled her eyes at the way he was still dodging the question.

But no matter how he loved baiting her she wouldn't allow him to distract her. She needed answers. But she needed to be careful as not to reveal the things she didn't want him to know.

Did he even know about the dreams?

She glared at him and instead of dueling on her doubts she just said the first thing that came to mind.

"A sign I am your mate?"

He nodded and Caroline inhaled aggravated. He had already told her he had given her the mating mark but this wasn't enough and Klaus was not cooperating.

"What else," he encouraged her and took a deep breath trying to stop herself from losing it completely and going berserk on him.

"Well, it is visible. I am a vampire and everything heals without leaving a scar but this one does not go away," she grumbled and Klaus' eyes shone with something dark as he gave her a smile full of teeth.

"You tried I take it?"

Caroline bit her lip and tentatively and nodded remembering how she used knives, razors and even her nails to cut the scarred skin in hopes that it would get stitched back without leaving any trace of the mark. And every time her skin healed but the scar still remained in place.

"You knew I would," she said and Klaus intertwined his fingers on his desk.

"Indeed I expected nothing less from you."

"Why does it not go away?" she insisted and watched Klaus with caution as he got up and walked around his desk.

"I told you our mating is eternal and the insignia or your neck is a representation of the bond," he explained as he prowled closer, "it won't go away, sweetheart. You could try maiming yourself and it would still remain unblemished."

Caroline's hands turned into fists.

"The locator spell inside you provides the required magic necessary for your body to handle the bond. Remember what I have told you. It is not just a way for me to always know where you are. The spell keeps recycling magic inside you. It made you resilient and gave you more tolerance for pain. I have told you before it's permanent and a shield and so our mating union is now permanent also. And the mark is the representation of our eternal bond."

Caroline couldn't believe what she was hearing. Klaus was always thinking so many steps ahead. She could barely follow. But the result was the same. He had bound her to him in countless ways. How would she break the bond? Where should she even begin?

"It will never go away Caroline," Klaus repeated again as if he could read her thoughts.

"So you just branded me?" she accused him feeling the edge of her fangs caressing the inside of her gums. Her anger was turning to fury.

"It shows to others that you are mine," Klaus shrugged, "no one would dare touch you or come anywhere near you because of it."

Caroline gaped at him.

"A do not touch neon sign for others? To fend them off? Seriously?" she shouted incredulously, "like what? A chastity belt?"

"Hardly love," Klaus chuckled, "nothing of what we do has anything to do with any kind of modest virtue."

Caroline pressed her lips but then her eyes went round.

"Wait! Hold on!" she blurted out, "so you just marked me as if I am a dog or something!"

Klaus had the audacity to actually laugh and she bit the inside of her cheek so harshly she drew blood.

"More like a she-wolf sweetheart," he corrected her.

"But of course I don't get to mark you back," she gritted out and Klaus clasped his hands behind his back and approached her.

"Do you want to?"

His voice had a deep husk that tempted her. He raised his eyebrow and waited for her answer but she shuffled her feet.

She took a step back and cleared her throat hating Klaus' smug expression.

"That is besides the point!" she awkwardly mumbled feeling the heat on her cheeks knowing all too well that she had probably blushed like a schoolgirl.

Klaus held her by the shoulders and gave a knowing smile.

"You wouldn't even know how to do it, love."

Caroline narrowed her eyes and shook his hands off her shoulders. She didn't need the physical connection to be messing with her mind and her desires right now. Desires she had to keep reminding herself that were inflicted on her magically. Because this was all it was. Magic. It was fake. Not real. Just a sexual roofie. She had to rationalize it and control it. Somehow.

She pushed those thoughts and feelings aside and centered on Klaus. Not knowing how to give a mark meant that-

"So I can do it?" she asked him, her eyes agleam with mischief.

"As a wolf? No," Klaus countered, "you are not one."

"But as a vampire?" she wondered and titled her head to the side and his silence was enough proof!

"I can mark people as a vampire?" she gasped, "are you serious? We can do that? _I_ can do that?" she babbled and Klaus shook his head.

And Caroline could have sworn that should he had his emotions his reaction would have been one of frustration.

"Didn't the Salvatores teach you anything?"

Caroline sighed with a sulking grimace.

"Stefan taught me how to eat Bambi and Damon how to snatch eat erase so I chose to snatch blood bags from his stash instead," she mumbled and Klaus rolled his eyes and she found out that it was so easy to forget who he was and what he had done to her and believe that this was normal and that she could be herself and get back into their old bantering ways.

Klaus gaze dropped at the visible mark on her neck and goosebumps spread all over her body. She was becoming wet and she knew Klaus could smell her arousal and she despised her body for its reactions.

"No point in learning how to give eternal marks darling. I won't allow you to mark anyone else," he told her without bothering to veil his threat, "and _no one_ is going to mark me."

He was casual about it and Caroline stared at him as if he was from another planet.

"But you get to mark me? What kind of a chauvinist ass are you?" she shouted, "why do I get to carry that …that-"

She was at loss for words and Klaus rose his brow urging her to go on.

"Slavery mark!" she finally exploded.

"It is not a slavery mark," Klaus refuted.

"What is it then?"

"An honor," he purred and at the intensity of his gaze Caroline gulped down before she scoffed.

"Oh please!"

"It is," Klaus simply stated, "In my kind, it is the highest honor someone could give to his mate. Especially if the mark comes from an Alpha how much more… THE Alpha."

Caroline shook her head. Emotions or no emotions Klaus remained the same smug bastard he always was. Some things never changed.

"If this is such a great honor why do you object to me honoring you back?" she snorted and Klaus smirked tauntingly.

"Because you are not an Alpha," he told her pushing her buttons and she seethed.

She opened her mouth to tell him exactly where to put his Alpha declarations of superiority when Klaus rose his hands up in mock surrender and all that easiness between them made her completely forget that he was still lacking his humanity. It is so easy to pretend he felt and cared when he was like this.

The only thing was that he didn't. He would never treat her like this if he did. He would never hurt her like this.

"Love, you are a vampire," Klaus pointed out, "your mark is the call of the dead. And I am an Original. Even if I cared to get one I would never bear the mark of a baby vampire. It would be a sign of weakness. Besides no one marks an Alpha," he firmly set down the law and Caroline realized that this was not just him mocking her or one of his usual games.

Klaus was set on making it clear that even though she was his mate she was also beneath him. And that was something she should never forget. He was possessive over her and acted as if he owned her but he also was making it clear that even though she belonged to him and he recognized her as his mate she would never be his equal.

She felt her heart aching. When Klaus had his emotions he wanted her exactly because he wanted to find an equal in her. Because she challenged him. Because she stood up to him. But without his emotions, he expected complete compliance and submission. He expected nothing from her aside what he wanted her to do. He only viewed her as an object and a weak one at that.

"Besides my wolf feels the mating bond while you as a vampire perceive it differently now that you carry my mark," Klaus continued, "I do not need a mark to be bonded with you. I chose you. You are in my blood. You are the one for my wolf. Forever."

'For his wolf,' Caroline thought bitterly. 'Not for him.'

Why did this irritate her? She should only feel hate and she should be disgusted by this. Instead, she felt frustrated and hurt in ways that she shouldn't. And a part of her wanted more than survival and what the mark forced on her. A part of her wanted Klaus. The Klaus she used to know. With the full range of emotions. The Klaus that was dangerous but also honest. The man that made her laugh and challenged her in the same way she challenged him even though she would never admit it to him or even herself. And she missed that man. She missed him so much.

She looked at him. Forever he had said. Would she miss him forever? Would she be stuck with this Klaus forever?

She didn't believe she could survive this.

"As for the mating mark," Klaus said and waltzed closer, "it has so many uses for you to experience and feel under your skin. In your body and blood," he whispered close to her ear and Caroline closed her eyes and shivered.

Klaus stood behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist. She inhaled him in and instinctively pressed her back on his chest. Feeling him so close was the only way to find relief from the scorching stabbing on her throat. The mark was like fire and Klaus was the only one that could save her from it.

"Even I don't know the total extent of them," he cooed and kissed the mark making her whimper, "vampires marking vampires has been done before. But I marked you as my mate which is different and has never been done before," he informed her and she tried so much to concentrate on what he was telling her, "I assume the basic reaction is the same though," he murmured and his fingers sneaked underneath her shirt and traced circles on her stomach.

She quivered and felt as if her legs could not support her any longer. Without Klaus holding her she would fall at his feet.

"You sweetheart are the first and only Crescent Vampire in existence," he hummed and she threw her head back until she made his shoulder her pillow, "not a Hybrid. Not entirely a Vampire. Something in between. A different breed altogether and the only one that had ever been created in history. You are one of a kind. Just like me," he coaxed with a low voice wrapped in heat and honey, "I told you before. We are the same. And this mark is the proof of it."

Caroline trembled and when his hand reached lower and raised her skirt she parted her legs.

Klaus bit the mark on her neck with blunt teeth and mindless desire ignited inside her. His fingers skimmed her inner thigh and her hand reached up and back until she curled her fingers around his nape holding his head against her neck.

"The mark is a sign of all that power."

His hand caressed her inner thigh and he lifted her skirt. She couldn't help it. She spread her legs wider and panted.

"How does it feel?" he purred and lapped the mark with his tongue, "on your skin?"

Caroline opened her mouth but no sound was coming out. The world started spinning when Klaus' palm pressed over her soaking panties. It was as if molten ore was spreading inside her veins. Metal and rust, hot and heavy. It was invading her senses and she couldn't think. She couldn't breathe as Klaus rubbed his hand up and down the lace of her underwear creating such delightful friction that made her press her ass against his hardness wantonly. He was tempting her. Seducing her. And she felt weightless. As if she was floating.

"How does it feel?"

His whisper was dark and when his nails scratched her intimate parts over the wet barrier that was sticking like a glue on her pulsating sex she sobbed. This was torture. Sweet and bitter. Unrelenting. She forgot everything but that touch. She only wanted release. Her juices were pouring out and her breasts swell. Her temperature was rising as if the coldness that came in her vampire blood was cast away by Klaus' wolf that howled in her bloodstream.

"It burns," she rasped. And it did. She was feverish. She was becoming the embodiment of fire. And the mark Klaus was kissing and sucking was a beacon for that scorching firestorm.

She hissed when he ripped her panties away in a swift motion and then she moaned when he only teased her by brushing his fingers over her folds.

"Please," she begged and felt Klaus' smile on her throat. His fingertip slid over her slit and she felt her orgasm building. Everything burned. What Klaus' lips or fingers touched burned. Whenever she came it burned. Her body burned. The mark burned.

She tried to turn around and claim more than this slow agony he was purposely inflicting on her but Klaus wrapped his other hand around her waist in a steely hold and didn't allow her to move.

He was so close. And the mark was like a siren's song. She always felt him whenever he was close. It made her feel the heat. The need. The demand. The mark alone was arousing her and was sending tingles of pleasure all over her body when he was near. She was always wet and ready for him. But now he wasn't just near. He was beginning where she ended and it felt natural. It felt as if she was home.

He plunged his finger inside her and she sighed and came with a guttural sound escaping her mouth but it wasn't enough. It wasn't even a prelude. Her muscles clenched again around his thrusting finger. One finger was not enough. It would never be enough.

She moved her hips not caring for anything else than the pleasure she felt. Klaus was always so rough and possessive and always fucked her hard and fast but now this was slow and sensual and it was hitting home. And yet now that he did this she was the one that wanted to him to fuck her hard and fast. On the floor, against the wall, on his desk. Everywhere. She didn't care.

His thumb flicked her clit and she cried. He bit her but she didn't worry. She wouldn't mind dying right about now. But she wouldn't die. She knew that. She only craved his blood but after the ritual, she came to realize she was also immune to werewolf venom now. It always came as a surprise but she was unaffected by Klaus' poison. The first night after the ritual when he bit her but didn't allow her to drink his blood she had panicked only to realize a few heartbeats later than his venom wasn't hurting her. She was safe.

And now she only cared to be sated.

Klaus pushed another finger inside her and she bounced up and down as he fingerfucked her rhythmically.

His teeth sank in the same place the mark branded. And the brand pulsated around Klaus' fangs. She came again but she was not satisfied. She wouldn't be unless she would come around his cock.

Klaus withdrew his fangs from her neck and blood dribbled down her neck and chest. He could have it all for all she cared.

"Others werewolves can feel it too," Klaus drawled pleased and lapped the mark on the healing skin that was getting stitched together but not enough for the scar to disappear, "everyone will know to whom you belong."

Caroline slowly blinked. The coldness of his voice. The way he spoke of her. She had forgotten why she had needed answers. A shred of tenderness and slow seduction and she had forgotten why she hated this. But the dominating iciness in Klaus' voice as he fucked her pussy with his fingers reminded her why this was not heaven. It was hell. Klaus treated her as if she was nothing but his pleasure slave and he branded her for all the world to see.

All the physical pleasure and excitement felt like a punch. She felt as if she was going to throw up. The mark burned still but she felt all the haziness evaporating and she felt as if she had turned to Klaus' whore. All those labels about mates and marks and power and all that magical attraction were nothing but a fancy way of sugarcoating reality. Klaus had turned her into a sex toy and while he felt nothing she felt it all and what she felt was sick and disgusting.

It was like ice was thrown at her and she gripped his hand and stilled it between her legs. Despite how her whole body was screaming for one more release she jerked Klaus's fingers away and yanked her body away from his embrace.

He let her.

She stumbled forward and felt as if the world had walls that were crashing over her and she was becoming progressively claustrophobic.

She felt cold and weak and the mating mark was like a magnetic pull that kept forcing her to return to Klaus but she stepped away and rooted her legs on the ground. She looked down at her disheveled appearance and felt cheap and dirty.

She could even smell her arousal and she felt ill. Klaus's eyes were still gold but had a vulgar tint in them as he eyed the image she was presenting. Her half-undressed state. Her sticky thighs. Her tangled hair. The rivers of blood down her chest.

He gave her a promising look but she forbiddingly extended her arm. A clear message for him to stay away. He bowed mockingly and Caroline's breath hitched when he brought his wet fingers to his mouth and licked them sensually, tasting her juices. His golden colored gaze was fixated on hers as she stared his mouth. The way he licked his digits was so intimate and so hot. Her whole body clenched and her heart raced. She felt as if she would climax only by looking at him. And she almost did. And he knew it.

Instead, she straightened her back and swept the back of her hand over her bloodied neck trying to cool the burning mark somehow.

"What else," she demanded and straightened her skirt on her legs weakly.

Klaus remained where he was. Detached and unconcerned.

"Even though you are a vampire this mark shows that you are part of a werewolf pack. Marked by an Alpha," he clarified. He was collected and calm. As if they hadn't shared a heated moment. As if he was talking about the weather, "Werewolves do not like Vampires of even Hybrids but their traditions respect the mark even if a human or a Vampire carries it."

Caroline's jaw tightened. She felt waves and waves of incredulity and frustration washing over her. She had foolishly believed that the purpose of the ritual served mostly Klaus' need for his mate. Her. That it would be just a thing between them in order to sooth his wolf. Instead, now he told her that he had changed her very nature. He had turned her into something else.

Her anger stilled and turned to hesitation when she marked the soft bemusement in his eyes.

"And of course there are a few more details here and there," he cooed giving her a slash of a smile and she scowled at him.

"Out with it Klaus."

"For example," he purposely played with the words and Caroline didn't like where this was headed. How could he be so sadistic without his emotions?

"If you try to give yourself to another," Klaus started, his voice too sweet, too serene, "the mark will make the whole experience extremely unpleasant for you and... for the other, especially if he or she is a werewolf."

Caroline stared up at him. Everything became quiet in her mind.

"Even other supernaturals will feel uncomfortable if they try to come too close to you," Klaus told her and she swallowed hard. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe under his control. "I would wager that you would have to compel humans to get over any discomfort they would feel. They wouldn't be able to explain it of course but… it would still be a struggle for them. The mark overrides all other magic and invades all senses. Consciously and subconsciously even."

Caroline glared at him mortified. She turned to ice. Ice so cold it scorched her skin and turned her to marble.

"This was not our deal," she breathed out in horror, "you had said that for the periods of time when you'll be setting me free I'll be allowed to live my life in any way I want. Be with anyone I want."

Her protest fell on dead ears. His face was blank and he only jerked his shoulders lightly in absolute indifference.

"You can of course," he assured her dispassionately, "if you feel comfortable enough to do it. And if anyone feels comfortable enough to stay by your side of course."

Her face drained of all color. She should have seen it coming. He had tricked her. And technically he did not even go back at his word. He just found a loophole.

He actually gave her a supernatural repellent. It was as she had said before. A chastity belt where he had the key.

She didn't have the power to accuse him or start a new shouting match. She could barely stand. She had no more fight left inside her. She felt exhausted.

And what was worse was that in the end she only wanted to come. To feel him inside her.

"What else?" she questioned again like a broken record on repeat. Hollow. She felt hollow.

Klaus grinned at her insistence.

"In the future, we'll bond in ways I can't explain because you cannot even comprehend them now," he dismissed as if he was talking to a petulant ignorant child and she realized that in front of him she was just that. A child. She had no power. No choice. She had nothing left.

"With the right training, you will be able to channel me."

Caroline frowned and held his gaze.

So many thoughts raced through her mind. What did that even mean? Would he be able to channel her also? Her emotions? Her thoughts? Her memories? As she would do with him? As she already did? Did he even know she had already done it? Had he done it too without her knowledge and against her will?

This kind of violation left her breathless.

But then again she didn't give him any mark. So logically he shouldn't be able to do it. He was always fast to remind her that she was beneath him after all so he wouldn't lower himself to channeling a weak vampire. It had to be a one-way street. She hoped.

"Channel you how?" she carefully asked thinking of the dreams and the letter.

"In some degree, you'll probably experience the feeling of being a wolf through me. Yellow eyes, double fangs, poison possibly."

She looked at him stunned in total disbelief. She shivered and no matter how much she tried she couldn't steady the quivering that passed through her body like lightning.

"At will?"

Klaus' smirk turned lethal and she realized she had overplayed her hand.

"In time. But don't get any ideas," he crooned ironically, "you are too young. It is impossible to happen now. In a few decades. Maybe more. We have time. And if the time ever comes I am sure Adelaide will be here to iron out the kinks."

Caroline pressed her lips. Of course. Of course, he would use his witch to keep her under his thumb.

Her gaze slid to the carpet. He had said that she was too young. That it was impossible for her to channel him now but she had opened his blood locked box and she had invaded his memories in her dreams. Maybe Klaus had miscalculated or this was a loophole or simply his spell backfired. Nature always bounced back after all. And if this was the case this had to be a window of opportunity for her.

She just had to keep any change under wraps. To keep Adelaide's magic and Klaus' influence at bay.

"Some of my instincts are also generated through the mark," he added, "the need to hunt. To kill. To run free. To enjoy the full moon."

Klaus' tone was casual but Caroline was shaking right down to the core. What had he done to her?

Because she had felt it all. She had felt more murderous. More restless. She had felt as if she couldn't contain the monster in the cage any longer and it was not even her monster. It was Klaus' darkness seeping through, gripping her soul tightly and tearing it apart. How long would it take until she would snap?

"The need for more aggressive sex," Klaus grinned and Caroline could see how his eyes flared with delight. The blue of his eyes was not natural anymore. It had an unholy stillness. Primal and carnal and void of all sentiment, "the need to mate. There will be times where you will be in heat," he chuckled and Caroline looked at him disgusted.

She had felt it all. It was as if her body was getting torn to shreds and had only one calling and purpose. To fuck Klaus. It was a constant. It hurt and it burned and it was making her lose her mind. It was maddening and degrading and it never stopped. When she wasn't losing herself in Klaus' memories she only had erotic dreams. She daydreamed of sex and she was always horny and wet and uncomfortable and the only remedy was Klaus' cock. She craved him in ways that defined her existence now. She felt as if she was his extension and without him, she was cut in half and the only way to feel him was through sex. It was primal and a call of the flesh.

And there were times she wondered if she would be able to ever leave him. Even if he allowed her a few years of freedom how would she go through them if she felt like that? It would be torture.

"In heat?" she uttered in a quiet voice that sounded terrifying to her. It felt like defeat. She tried to look elsewhere and her unfocused gaze fell on her torn panties on the floor. She hated this. She hated this so much.

Klaus approached her and her heart thundered. She fixed a long stare at him but there was such a distance in his eyes and she wanted to shout like a banshee. She wanted him to comfort her and he couldn't. He wouldn't.

He only cared for one thing. And her being in 'heat' as he said was amusing and convenient for him.

"You already are, aren't you?" he taunted her with a dry smile and his finger traced the side of her face until she angrily pushed his hand away. He seemed as if he was having fun and he smiled at her reaction but there was a pang in her heart at the way his eyes looked. So empty. Almost glossed over. There was nothing in there. He was simply ogling her as if she was a piece of meat. It was crude and wolfish and most of all it was inhuman.

"It's the aftermath of the spell," Klaus told her, "you are still coping and it will take time to subside."

His smirk turned wider and Caroline held her breath when he took a step forward. Instinctively she took a step back and she kept moving backward to each step he was taking towards her. Until the back of her thighs hit his desk.

"Maybe it never will," he spoke softly and Caroline felt as if she would suffocate. Her whole body was at its breaking point. She was terrified and angry as hell but desire clouded everything.

Klaus stood only inches away from her and she could feel his body through the flimsy barrier of their clothes. This close proximity alone was more than enough proof. Everything he told her was the truth. Breathing the same oxygen alone was turning her on. She had never been so aroused in her life before. Not even after she turned. It was like a fire raging. She was burning.

She heaved when Klaus leaned closer still. His knee parted her legs and she pushed her palms against the desk to keep her balance. She had to hold on to something. She desperately had to hold on but her eyes traveled from his heated gaze to his lips and she wanted nothing more than to feel those lips on her skin.

Klaus' palms covered hers on the desk and her heart raced. His scent was everywhere. He bent down until his head hid into the crook of her neck. He smelled her hair and her hands turned to fists under his fingers. He held on. Tightly.

"Let go, love," he murmured against the skin of her neck and she closed her eyes. When the velvet edge of his tongue pressed on the erratic pulse vein of her throat she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips. As she couldn't stop the heat that coated her pussy and thighs. She was dripping wet. She felt her skin stretching around her bones. She felt weak. She felt as if she was falling.

Klaus kissed the mark on her neck and she whimpered. She couldn't tell where the old Caroline began and where this new creature Klaus had turned her into ended.

His fangs grazed the mark that seemed to become a sentient entity inside of her. A brand that tied her to Klaus in ways she couldn't even begin to understand. But she felt it all. And it was too much. Silent tears fell from her eyes.

"Give in to it. Feel it."

She heard the noise.

Things scattered and fell on the floor. Caroline barely noticed how Klaus pushed everything away from his desk. His hands grasped her waist and when she gripped his shoulders he lifted her up and sat her on his desk.

"Feel me through it," he whispered in such a sensual voice that Caroline's knees became honey. They melted and so did she, "feel me," he enticed her.

Klaus pushed her back against his desk and she let him. She lied back and closed her eyes. Klaus was kissing her neck and was unbuttoning her shirt. This time he was not ripping her clothes away. This time he was seducing her. This time the way he wanted her to submit was far more cruel and it hurt.

His hands roamed over her sides and his body covered hers. She sighed and her fingers unbuckled Klaus' belt and pushed the leather out of the loops of his pants with a fast movement. He pushed her skirt up until it bunched up around her waist leaving her bare and she quickly unzipped him before she guided her hands to his neck making sure that his lips would leave her neck and would press against her lips. He smiled against her mouth and when their tongues danced she sunk her fingers into his dirty blond hair and her legs wrapped around his waist.

She wanted him. She wanted him so badly and she wanted nothing more than to feel him.

But how could she feel him when he felt nothing? Feeling him meant feeling only cold and she was already turning to ice.

* * *

When she slipped out of Klaus's office his scent clang on her skin. She still felt his touch and she wanted more. She wanted more and she wanted nothing.

She tried to smooth her tangled hair with her fingers not caring for how others watched her as she stumbled out of the mansion. Klaus' vampires and even his witches only bowed at the distance but no one spoke to her and no one stopped her. Everyone followed Klaus' orders after all and she was off limits now. She was the lady of the house. Klaus' mate. More or less a thing he used but as it happened everyone here was just that. Things. Things Klaus used. Disposable things or necessary. Some of them, however, even in his emotionless state, had more value to him than others. That made them important things.

Caroline tried to close the shirt on her chest. It was barely buttoned and her hands were shaking. Her bra and panties had been destroyed and her skirt was torn at the seams. There was blood all over her and she smelled like sex. Klaus' come was still wet on her thighs.

Her whole body was trembling. It was betraying her. She couldn't run. She could barely stand. Her lips were swollen and so were her red-rimmed eyes. Mascara was running over her cheeks but she couldn't stop the tears from falling. But for some reason but she didn't feel like she was crying. She felt cold. Alone. Empty.

When the ice cold air hit her skin she closed her eyes and tried to breathe. To breathe in the frozen mist and the scent of the pine needles and the roses. Despite the weather, everything was in full bloom in the gardens. A courtesy of Klaus' witches. Their magic kept everything alive and created an image of spring amidst winter and snow but Caroline knew it was a lie. Everything was a lie. Nothing could survive the cold of these mountains. The ice.

Nothing could survive Klaus. And neither could she. She was too weak. Helpless. Useless. A broken thing.

She used to have a voice but now she was mute. She struggled on the snow and tried to balance herself. The past and the present collided in her head. She couldn't help but divide her life in before and after sections. Life before Damon. Life before she became a vampire. Life before and after…Klaus.

Lightning shouldn't hit the same place twice. But it did. And the aftermath of this kind of abuse was eating her alive.

Caroline hugged herself. She looked at the sky. She was a new breed now. She was a Crescent Vampire Klaus had said. Nothing more than a fancy label to spell out how she was once more the plaything of a demented sadistic monster that was more powerful than her. This was worse because Klaus had taken everything from her. She could feel him inside her body and mind. Inside her soul. It was like rot. Damon's compulsion paled in comparison. Back then she was living in a haze. Back then she had a corner in her mind she could hide into.

Now she felt everything. More than she could stand. Now there was no place in her body and mind that was hers. She was changing. She could feel it and it felt like death. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to bury away the person she had chosen to become. And that person was slipping away from her. Piece by piece. There would be no coming back from that.

Caroline didn't look back at the looming estate. She ran until she pressed her back against the stone wall of the small maze that stretched around one of the fountains. She slid down and pressed her hands against her face. She wanted to scream but no scream was coming out. Everything roared inside her. In high notes. Out of sync.

She didn't know how long she stayed there but then her eyes snapped open.

Blood. She smelled blood.

And that sound. That sweet constant tempo. It covered the screaming in her head.

"My Lady?"

Caroline lifted her gaze only to see one of Klaus' blood servants as he called them appearing from one of the maze's entrances and walking closer to her.

Caroline pressed her back against the stone harder. The girl's heartbeat was so loud. It was piercing her eardrums.

"Master Klaus asked to come see if you need anything," the girl said with a smile. Every compelled human in the estate always had a bright smile plastered on their faces. As if they had no worries. As if they were happy to be here. As if they didn't have a life before coming here. As if they were not going to die at any moment.

Caroline didn't know how Klaus got these people here. Or how he procured them as his witches would say. They were not human beings here. They were simply here for their blood and services. Whatever services those would be.

Klaus had witches and vampires living in this place. They were his minions. At first, when Klaus kept her under lock and key she hadn't realized how many vampires and werewolves and witches lived in this place. It was like Klaus had created a personal army. And every human was here to entertain and serve that army too. In appalling ways. Klaus didn't care to stop his groupies from abusing and killing the humans in the estate and she had no real power here. She couldn't stop them. This was the world Klaus had created and in this world humans were nothing but food and toys. Collateral damage.

Caroline didn't even know their names because they had no names. They only had, just like her, a before and after. But unlike her Klaus didn't care for their survival at all so their after was always getting cut short. Brutally.

And despite the carnage and the atrocities these people always walked around like mindless zombies. Smiling. Serving. Entertaining. Offering their blood. Always compelled.

"Would you like anything? Blood maybe?" the girl beamed and Caroline closed her eyes and tried to breathe. But the more she breathed the most she smelled the blood.

She wanted to yell at the girl to go away but no voice was coming out.

Klaus' compelled servant girl kneeled down on the snow in front of her and tilted her head to the side. An invitation. One that made the vampire that lurked underneath Caroline's skin sing and salivate. Caroline pushed her palms into the snow and gripped it until it turned to jagged ice in her fingers.

"You look pale my Lady. Please drink."

Veins appeared under the rivulets of tears and mascara on Caroline's cheeks. Blood swirled in her eyes and Klaus' words ringed in her ears.

 _The need to hunt,_ he had told her. _The need to kill._

Oh yes. It was there. It was louder than any other voice. The mark on her neck burned. The fangs on her gums dropped.

Caroline pressed her hands deeper into the snow. She felt like a predator that was marking its prey. She was seizing the girl in front of her. She was ready to take her up on her compelled offer.

Her hearing focused on the steady heartbeat of the girl. It was pumping warm blood into those pale blue veins under her thin dress.

Caroline remembered the other girl she had killed the night Klaus had compelled her to lower her inhibitions. She had never learned the name of the woman she had savaged and ripped to shreds. She had never even bothered. It had blended in her past as a nameless victim while she only bothered with her suffering and forgot the pain she had caused. She had forgotten the pain but the thrill still lingered at nights. She still remembered how good it had felt.

"What's your name?" she asked the girl in front of her.

"My name?"

"Yes. What's your name?"

"I don't know."

Caroline peered intently at the girl's empty eyes. The smile of bliss was still there and Caroline wanted to claw it out of the brunette's face.

"Before you came here? What was your name then?"

"I don't remember."

Caroline sighed. The heartbeat was so loud. The pain too real.

"Look at me."

The girl stared at her and Caroline's eyes dilated.

"Remember your name," Caroline compelled her and watched as the girl blinked. Once twice. Once more and some clarity broke through as Caroline's compulsion finally overrode whatever other hypnosis gripped the girl's mind.

"Emma."

Emma's voice was robotic but the smiling face now had a name. And Caroline knew all too well that this name would forever haunt her nightmares.

The snow squeaked but the world seemed quieter somehow. Flakes fell down leaving droplets of snow on their hair and skin. Caroline ran her tongue over her fangs that gleamed under the pale sun.

She slid over the blanket of snow and approached Emma. Slowly. Dangerously.

And very tenderly she pushed the girl's brown hair away from her neck.

She sniffed the blood. Just a few breakable layers of skin and tissue covered what she craved. Emma waited patiently. A human sacrifice that couldn't be older than 20 years old.

Caroline realized that she looked like Elena. Fragile. Beautiful. Young.

But the heartbeat was human and was calling her closer. Closer and closer until her fangs elongated and pierced the cold skin until warm blood exploded in her mouth.

Caroline closed her eyes and moaned. She held Emma closer. Emma that was idly smiling and was not making any sound. That was compelled to feed her and die for her.

Blood hissed over the snow painting it red.

Caroline drank and drank. More snow was falling. Red and white mixed.

The heartbeat was slowing down.

Caroline could stop. But she didn't want to.

The heartbeats were faint now. The distance between each beat was becoming longer. The gulps Caroline swallowed became bigger.

She should stop. She should let Emma go. She should heal her. She should let her live. She had to stop.

She was Emma. She had a name. She was not a thing.

Caroline had to stop and she knew she could stop but she chose not to.

It had not been just the blood thirst. It was a choice. A step into the darkness and without holding back anymore she took it. She took it and with it, Caroline took Emily's life along with every last drop of her blood until the heartbeat faded away and Caroline's hunger was sated for once. She didn't feel the ache of the mark anymore. She didn't feel like she wanted to fuck Klaus again. She didn't feel like she would break into a thousand pieces. She didn't feel weak. She didn't feel like a thing.

She felt like a killer.

She felt powerful.

And she knew that the only way to defeat Klaus was to accept the truth he had told her a long time ago. They were the same.

She was no better than him or than any other monster that lurked here.

If she wanted to survive she had to become better than Klaus' lackeys. She had to become just as bad as Klaus was. If not worse. She had to embrace her nature and set her own course until there would be no more before and after life. Until she would be the only one deciding what her before and after would be.

But as she withdrew her fangs from the dead girl's neck the high of the kill started subsiding and the part of the old Caroline that was still there and she hadn't lost in the darkness broke down.

She stared at Emma's dead eyes and Klaus' voice once more echoed in her head. This time the memory was not that old.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"But since we are aiming for honesty. Working for me and becoming one of my trusted vampires means that you will change. So if by the off chance I do turn my emotions back you will no longer be able to look down at me from your little moral high horse. You won't be the virtuous good vampire and no pedestals will have you on top… You will be just like me," Klaus let his promise rise like a shadow around her. A promise so dark and so black like the colors of a rotting coffin's closing lid._

Caroline held the body of the girl she killed closer. She cradled Emma close to her chest and this time she felt the tears burning. She rested her forehead against the cold forehead of the dead person that was staring at the sky with lifeless eyes.

"I am sorry. God, I am so sorry."

Snow kept falling in the stillness burying Emma's red under layers of white. Until there was no more red. Until everything was clean and pure again.

And like everything else here the white was nothing but a lie.

Everything was red.

* * *

Caroline fell to the pillows as Klaus withdrew from her. She felt a weird calmness. Ever since she killed Emma she felt a stillness inside her. She didn't feel broken or used anymore. Only empty. Whenever Klaus fucked her or she fucked him she allowed herself to dive into whatever her body was feeling and the physical need was covering any other thought and emotion and she welcomed it.

At least the sex was amazing but it was just that. Sex. And sometimes hot sex was a distraction even she needed. Even like this.

She felt Klaus' gaze hot over her body and her nipples hardened again. Her body was already sweaty and she had come more times than she could count but that stupid mating bond was not allowing her any respite from the constant need to be with Klaus and have hot vampire hybrid sex with him. All the time.

"You've been having nightmares," Klaus said and Caroline realized his lessons had paid off because she stopped her body from even clenching. She forced herself to show nothing. To have no reaction.

"I noticed you barely sleep," Klaus commented and Caroline slowly turned her head to face him.

"I didn't know you care," she responded with a hint of irony.

"I don't," Klaus assured her, "but I want my mate's vigor to be at its peak. You are of no use to me otherwise," he unemotionally explained and Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Of course. You wouldn't want to break your toy just as you bought it," she mocked and was surprised by the fact that she could hear both of their hearts but hers was still beating normally. It was not spiking up. It was not racing. She was calm. And she knew Klaus could hear her heartbeat too and that was the proof he needed so to believe that she was not lying to him.

Only she was.

She had decided not to tell him about the dreams. Klaus would never allow her to invade his memories like that and she needed the leverage. She didn't know if he was experiencing the same thing with her memories but she doubted. If he was he would have known the truth about her dreams too. He would have called Adelaide to prevent her dreams and keep her on a tighter leash.

Caroline was treading a very thin and dangerous line here but she had to gain some time and she hoped that whatever this glitch or side-effect was it would be something that she could use to her advantage and it would not backfire on her. She had to cover the truth somehow hoping for the best.

"Is it because of the mark?" Klaus inquired and Caroline sighed as if he had just asked her something that was boring her to death.

"It's nothing," she placated him, "I always had nightmares when I was stressed. And with everything that keeps happening stressed seems to be an understatement. It will go away," she deflected knowing that this would be how she would respond if what she was saying was true. Which partially it was. One of Klaus' lessons was that lying with the truth was always far more effective than coming up with lies that would sooner or later catch up with you.

Klaus looked intensely into her eyes and she scoffed angrily.

"Your mark has only made me extremely angry and horny so far. I don't need more thank you very much!" she blurted out in anger and Klaus eyed her.

"Are you lying to me?" he pressed intrusively and Caroline smiled.

"What is it, Klaus? You can't tell if I am lying without your emotions?"

Her provocation seemed to spark a reaction out of him. His fingers wrapped around her neck. She only stared back at him.

"I can always get into your head and see for myself," he said and his other hand cupped her face. He was touching her head. Ready to invade her mind and Caroline shrugged. Her heartbeat remained steady.

She frowned as she turned her full attention to him.

"Why haven't you?"

"I don't really care," he dismissed and let her go.

"But you do. Since you ask," she noticed and wondered for real why hasn't he gotten into her mind. If he didn't feel anything why would he care? What was stopping him?

Something was off and she had to find out what it was.

"Don't mistake my interest in your well being as me caring for you sweetheart. You are my mate and having you healthy and to the best of your physical abilities is a practical issue."

"So you just care if I am good in bed?" she snorted and then rolled her eyes at Klaus' shrug.

Internally however the gears in her head were turning and turning. Klaus was lying with the truth too, wasn't he? He used her body but she couldn't reach his heart. They both knew that. That was the truth. What was the lie?

Was he afraid of what he would find if he got in her head? He couldn't be. Fear was an emotion.

"I am fine," she stated again hoping that she sounded convincing enough. She couldn't let Klaus see what she was thinking or what she was hiding. She had to make him believe her. Enough for her to find a way out of this mess.

Enough wouldn't do she thought. She had to become Klaus' distraction again. She had to be at the top of her game and learn to lie with the truth in more ways than she already knew how. She had to find what he hid from her and why. Because she couldn't shake that feeling off. There was always a loophole and she had to find it.

"We shall see," Klaus promised but this time she did not say anything.

He gripped her chin. Hard.

"You wouldn't be keeping secrets from me love would you?"

"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, "emotions or no emotions you are still the same paranoid freak. No, Klaus, I do not keep secrets from you," she sarcastically insisted, "you made sure of that. It is not as if you are leaving me any room to breathe," she ranted, in awe by her ability to lie so convincingly.

She knew how to be a distraction but ever since she was stuck with Klaus in his hellish reality her life had turned into she had come to realize that it wasn't that hard to look someone straight in the eye and lie. And not just when it came to flirting and the childish games she used to play in Mystic Falls. Here she had learned how to master in this art.

Maybe if Klaus had his emotions he would be able to recognize the subtle differences between her honesty and her lies but now he was oblivious to them and she was becoming better and better at perfecting her façade.

Klaus let her go and got out of bed. She said nothing. She didn't even bother to look at him or cover herself. She stayed sprawled and naked on the bed facing the ceiling as Klaus went to take his shower. Her body craved more but she tried to resist the sexual urge. Instead, she closed her eyes and tried to think.

" _With the right training, you will be able to channel me."_

Caroline's hand flew to her mouth preventing the gasp from coming out. She sat up and stared the bathroom door as if she could set the wood on fire with her glare.

She touched the mating mark.

If she would be able to channel him would he be able to channel her? Or more precisely would she be able to use that channeling to her advantage? Would she be able to channel emotions into him? Force them on his through the bond?

She had to learn more. She had to do more. But the risk was far too great.

She fell back to the pillows and calmed the impatience and the storm inside her. She had to wait. To buy her time. To find viable solutions until she would successfully make Klaus turn his emotions back on. Because failing was not an option.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"One more thing. If you try to trick me in any way or break our deal I will make sure that the punishment will be…spectacular," Klaus swore and at the menace that reflected in his gleam Caroline felt drops of sweat running down her spine, "and then… I will keep you under lock and key for the rest of your eternity. And your torture won't be just physical," he assured making her blood turn to ice, "you will live for the rest of your immortal life knowing you are responsible for the ….death of everyone you have ever met."_

Caroline knew she couldn't risk it but this time she was starting to doubt everything. From her sanity to what Klaus' words hid underneath the obvious threat. His reaction back then had been far more intense than it should have been for an emotionless vampire. She kept going back into that moment constantly and not only out of fear.

There had to be a reason why Klaus had been so adamant about her not to try to make him turn it back on. But how could she do it, to begin with? He was an Original that had burned his bridges. She was not foolish enough to believe she was his emotional trigger. If she had been he would have turned his humanity back on weeks ago.

That threat meant that Klaus didn't want to take any chances with her. And something told her it couldn't be just because he used to be in love with her when he had his emotions on or because he believed that love could be the key to turn his emotions back on. He didn't have any emotions now to believe that.

She had to readjust her perception when it came to him. This was one of Klaus' lessons after all.

Learn your enemy.

Klaus now was far more calculating. He had to have known back then that he was going to give her the mark. He knew what it meant and he probably knew more than what he was letting on. Was this why he didn't risk getting into her head? Maybe he couldn't? Or getting into her head would be a trigger she could use against him?

Her fingers outlined the scar.

Maybe this mark was not a curse after. Maybe she could use it to her advantage? But how? Surely Klaus had contingencies to make sure this wouldn't happen. But she could get into his memories and he didn't know it. The thing was that she couldn't navigate those memories at will and Klaus would be watching her like a hawk from now an on.

She had to distract him somehow. But how? Just sex wouldn't do.

The door creaked and Caroline watched Klaus when he stepped naked out of the steaming bathroom. His gaze was penetrating and she struggled to keep a straight face. So she chose to just let her eyes roam over his body and take their fill. She felt tingles of desire stirring between her legs again.

"Get a shower and come to find me in the training room in twenty minutes," Klaus coldly told her, "we need to get to the second phase of your training."

Caroline's brow creased.

"Second phase?" she muttered in surprise.

"Well, since you are fine," Klaus drawled, "there's no need to go easy on you anymore. No more kid gloves for you sweetheart."

Caroline tensed. If he used kid gloves so far she dreaded to think what he would do to her without them.

She was royally screwed, wasn't she?

She bit her lower lip at the sight of Klaus' smirk and she watched him getting dressed with an expression of unease.

When he left, however, a smile spread on her face.

She had come to realize that the only reason Klaus had been able to torture her and trap her like this was because he was right. She had been weak. He was able to manipulate her and treat her like a puppet on strings because she didn't know the things he knew. Because she hadn't been forged in the same fire he had burned for centuries. This had to change. She used to hate his lessons but the answer was staring her straight in the face. She had to become strong. To learn what he knew. To show no mercy. She had to let him teach her. She realized that his lessons were already paying off and there was no going back anymore. She was done being a victim.

She leaped off the bed and headed in the shower. Water splashed over her heated skin and she rested her head against the tiles.

Without his emotions, Klaus lacked the right instinct that came with emotional intelligence. He had given her the internal locator spell and the mating mark. He had forced all those ties between them.

But she was smart enough to realize that those ties were going both ways and if it was his training that would make her strong enough to use those ties and choke him with them then so be it.

Bring it on.


End file.
